MASHA HAMILTON discusses and signs "31 Hours"

31 Hours by Masha Hamilton*

Hosted by San Diego's StyleSubstanceSoul.com at the Book Works.  

"Hamilton's novel tracks the 31 hours before Jonas, a sensitive young man raised by idealistic, now divorced parents, straps on a vest of explosives and enters the New York City subway system to martyr himself. The novel begins with Jonas's mother, Carol, knowing that something is wrong with her son. Thus begins an odyssey that takes her back to her ex-husband, Jake; to Jonas's girlfriend, Vic; and to the authorities. Hamilton touches on many perspectives of the characters who know Jonas. Through all of this, Jonas ritually prepares for this final act of his life, but without the single-minded fanaticism one expects. It's a very tense narrative, vividly imagined and eerily plausible. 

Masha Hamilton has worked as a foreign correspondent in the Middle East for The Associated Press, in Moscow, as a correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and NBC/Mutual Radio, and as a reporter in Afghanistan in 2004. She recently founded the Afghan Women's Writing Project, which helps young Afghan women learn about writing, find their voices, and share their work in a safe forum. Hamilton is the author of three previous novels: Staircase of a Thousand Steps; The Distance Between Us, and The Camel Bookmobile. She lives in Brooklyn. 

For more information from StyleSubstanceSoul.com, click here.