We encourage all community members to join us this fall and winter as we come together to read, discuss and reflect upon Pete Hamill’s moving coming of age story, Snow in August. Full of relevance for our time and place, the story is set in Brooklyn in the 40′s, and follows the unlikely unfolding friendship between an 11-year-old Catholic boy and an elderly Jewish Rabbi.
| Themes of persecution, bullying, and discrimination are threaded beside those of love and hope, redemption and mysticism. Last year’s “Wilton Reads!” taught us how to see injustice – this year’s will help us learn to address it.
We are grateful to community sponsors for helping the Library to make Wilton Reads! Snow in August happen:
We are most excited that the author, Pete Hamill, will be joining us on the evening of Thursday, February 2nd, to talk about the book!Please pick up a copy of the book with regular or large print, listen to it on tape, or borrow the movie on DVD to discover – or rediscover – the poignancy and power of its message. |
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Community Read Events:
• The Wilton Bulletin purchased hundreds of copies of the book for free distribution to the community. They will be available in October on a first-come, first-served basis – stop by and pick up your copy! We thank them heartily for their generosity.
• Throughout the fall, book discussion groups, 8th-12th grade students, community organizations and individuals will read Snow in August.
• Susan Boyar, the exceptional book discussion leader for our Wilton Library Readers, will host an evening discussion of Snow in August at 7 pm on Thursday, January 12th.
• At 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 2nd, the Library will host a talk, book sale and signing by noted author Pete Hamill! This appearance is sponsored in part by our community partner, the Wilton Bank.
• The Library will host a daytime discussion of Snow in August on Thursday, December 8th from 10:30 to noon. Popular discussion leader Ben Van Vechten will be on hand to help us talk of characters, issues and more. All are welcome.
Want to Learn More?:
- Pete Hamill website
- New York Times movie review and trailer
- Review of Snow in August from Commonweal
- New York Times Magazine review
- St. Petersburg Times article on a community read of Snow in August
- Backgrounder on Pete Hamill from Bullpen and the NYU School of Journalism
