The Art of Floating

Kristin Bair O'Keeffe

Penguin, Apr 1, 2014 - Fiction - 464 pages

At a time when nothing seems real,
it takes something truly unusual to put your life into focus.

 
When her beloved husband Jackson disappeared without a trace, popular novelist Sia Dane stopped writing, closed down her house, stuffed her heart into a cage, and started floating. It wasn’t the normal response to heartache, but Sia rarely did things the normal way.

Exactly one year, one month, and six days after Jackson’s disappearance, Sia discovers a mysterious man on the beach. He’s mute, unresponsive, and looks as if he has just walked out of the sea. It’s the sort of situation Jackson would have solved with a simple call to the police. But Jackson is gone.
 
As unreal as he seems, Sia is determined to help this man. Perhaps she can return him to his place in the world—to whoever lost him and loves him. Perhaps she can answer their questions the way no one could answer hers.
 
But as her friends and family help her winnow her way to the truth, Sia comes to realize that the unfathomable leap between sorrow and healing begins with a single step.
 

Contents

• Section 1: 20
• Section 2: 27
• Section 3: 31
• Section 4: 42
• Section 5: 67
• Section 6: 71
• Section 7: 80
• Section 8: 96
• Section 9: 100
• Section 10: 111
• Section 11: 119
• Section 12: 124
• Section 13: 125
• Section 14: 159
• Section 15: 172
• Section 16: 174
• Section 17: 187
• Section 18: 200
• Section 19: 227
• Section 20: 235
• Section 21: 239
• Section 22: 244
• Section 23: 247
• Section 24: 262
• Section 25: 267
• Section 26: 269
• Section 27: 278
• Section 28: 280
• Section 29: 283
• Section 30: 295
• Section 31: 300
• Section 32: 309
• Section 33: 311
• Section 34: 313
• Section 35: 328
• Section 36: 338
• Section 37: 340
• Section 38: 353
• Section 39: 358
• Section 40: 361
• Section 41: 363
• Section 42: 367
• Section 43: 392
• Section 44: 394
• Section 45: 402
• Section 46: 431
• Section 47: 433

About the author

Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is the author of the novels The Art of Floating and Thirsty, as well as numerous essays about China, bears, and off-the-plot expats. She lives in Andover, Massachusetts, with her husband and daughter and travels to anywhere as often as she can.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Art of Floating
• Author: Kristin Bair O'Keeffe
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Penguin, 2014
• ISBN: 042527148X, 9780425271483
• Length: 464 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Women