Kaitlin

= = = = = Three Junes = = =



Greece, New York City, Scotland, Paris

Situation A family hits many bumps in the road and must learn how to cope, not only with the situation at hand, but each other.

Characters and Conflict Fenno- the protagonist of the novel, owns a books store in Manhattan and is gay Dennis- Fenno’s brother David- Fenno’s brother, lived in Paris for some time, is a veterinarian Veronique- David’s wife Lilliane- Dennis’ wife Mal- a magazine critic, and is implied to be Fenno’s first partner in the book Tony- Fenno’s second partner whom which Paul- Father of Fenno, David, and Dennis. Was a journalist and traveled around Greece, his favorite country. Maureen- Paul’s wife Ralph- Fenno’s friend who runs the book store with him

Conflict
Between Fenno’s many lives, he has a hard time balancing them and ends up juggling four lives at once, between New York City and his home in Scotland.

Theme

<span style="color: #f7cf45; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Family members must look beyond the status quo and learn to put aside differences in order to achieve respect and unity.

<span style="color: #00ffff; display: block; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Summary

<span style="color: #f7cf45; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The book starts out in the third person omniscient perspective following the life of Paul, and, occasionally, his wife Maureen. It takes the reader through many of Paul’s expeditions to Greece, the country he loved and Maureen’s dog rescues in Scotland. The second part of the book is written in first person from the perspective of Fenno, one of Paul and Maureen’s sons. Fenno resides in New York City where he owns a book shop with his friend Ralph. One day Mal, a magazine critic decides to browse the isles of the store and meets Fenno. The two become inseparable. Leaving Ralph as well as the reader to question the relationship Mal and Fenno have. One day Fenno gets a call from his brother David. Paul the father of Fenno, Dennis, and David has passed away of a stroke. The three boys fly to their home in Scotland from the countries they decided to live their young adult life in. The book goes back and forth from the “present” which is post Paul’s death to Fenno’s memories. In the memories of Fenno’s New York City life, Mal becomes ill and for a very long time has fought to stay alive until one day he decides to end his life. Fenno takes part in this unfortunate decision. During all this, Fenno meets a photographer, Tony who becomes quite interested in him, and in turn Fenno becomes infatuated with Tony. The two share an intimate relationship. However, Fenno does not tell anyone of his secret lover. The part of the book that is post Paul's death consist of the three brothers Dennis, David, their wives and Fenno learning how to except each other, help each other out in time of trouble, where to put Paul’s ashes.

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[[image:english10honorsf11/10192_glass_julia_1_.jpg width="104" height="168" align="left"]]
<span style="color: #f7cf45; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Julia Glass was born on March 23, 1956 in Boston Massachusetts. As a young girl, Glass loved reading and spent most of her time in her local library. She attended Yale and graduated with an art degree. In the mid 80’s she moved to New York and was a freelance writer and copy editor. Later on she acquired a job as editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Her first book was //Three Junes(2002)// which received the National Book award in 2002. She also wrote //The Widower’s Tale// (2010) which was awarded four out of five stars. //I See You Everywhere// (2008) which was awarded three out of five stars, and //The Whole World over// (2006) which was awarded three and a half stars out of five.

<span style="color: #00ffff; display: block; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Review

<span style="color: #f7cf45; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Three Junes is defiantly a captivating book full of romance, seen through a different paradigm, and family struggles. The book is broken up into different perspectives and goes back and forth from Fenno’s New York life to his life with his family after his father’s death. The reader must be able to make connections from the flashbacks to present day and handle somewhat disturbing situations that arise. The book may be a little hard to follow but overall it was a pleasant surprise.

<span style="color: #00ffff; display: block; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Analysis of Style <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> In //Three Junes// Glass has a captivating style that helps keep the reader hooked throughout the book. She uses extraordinary vocabulary and an unusual choice of words, “The humidity’s astronomical, and our AC will follow suit.”(Glass,185), “Chatty rounds of gin rummy with people whose breath already reek of formaldehyde” (183). Her vocabulary is geared toward a mature audience especially because she slips some vulgar language in the text. She uses allusion and makes a reference to Julia Child, a well know cook, “-and sole bonne femme and haricots verts and baba au rhum. Straight unadulterated Julia” (170). Besides her reference to Julia, she uses many French words throughout the book such as “bonne femme, Bonjour, oui, la voila, and comme ca”. Glass does a lovely job with incorporating similes into her novel so the reader has a better mental picture of what is happening. When Fenno describes the way his nieces are breathing as they sleep he says “It sounds literally pure, as if their lungs were lined with pristine wedding gown satin” (241). “Oh, sweets like a peacock,’ said Lucinida” Mal’s mom says as she tells Mal that he looks good in a garment she had purchased for him. Her style overall may be confusing, because she jumps from Fenno in Greece to him reminiscing in New York suddenly throughout the book. However the choice of words keeps the reader hooked and always looking forward through the read.

<span style="color: #00ffff; display: block; font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">More Information

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|National Book Award] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">[|Interview with Julia Glass]