Gemini - Hardcover

Burns, Michael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 097018624X ISBN 13: 9780970186249

Publisher: Poncha Pr, 2001

In his debut novel, Burns addresses the serious issues of alcoholism, divorce, and personal identity with equal parts of grit and humor. Set in rural Vermont during the 1968-69 academic year, Gemini is the story of one man’s desperate effort to salvage his life. Jack Scanlon returns to the place of his birth after an eighteen-year absence. Due to his excessive drinking, he has lost his wife and young daughter, and subsequently his engineering job. He has retreated to his native Vermont and taken a position as a high school science teacher, moving in with his uncle and aunt. Burns uses lively dialogue and descriptive writing to give the reader a clear picture of the 1960’s anti-establishment movement and the cultural attitudes of the time.

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About the Author:

Michael Burns was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. His family moved to New Hampshire in 1950 where he attended high school, graduating in 1957. He deferred entrance to college, and served in the U.S. Navy for four years, seeing duty in the Far East in the early days of the Vietnam War. After mustering out of the Navy, Burns returned to New Hampshire where he met and married his wife, and matriculated into the University of New Hampshire.

Encouraged by his freshman English teacher, Burns first became interested in writing fiction in 1963. He continued writing after being inspired by the late Thomas Williams, National Book Award-winning author and mentor to many young writers, among them John Irving.

In 1971, Burns joined the faculty of St. Paul’s School, a college preparatory boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire, where he continues to teach chemistry and life science. He lives there with his wife Nancy, and is at work on another novel, Where You Are. Gemini is Burns’ first novel.

Review:

"...Burns presents a believable, honest story full of irony and wit." -- Karen L. Rose, Fosters Daily Democrat

"...a gritty, funny, sad, entertaining, and moving work, rich in detail, full of rancor and love, failure and wisdom..." -- Rosemary Mahoney, author of Whoredom in Kimmage

"...cringing and laughing at someone else’s problems make for a great diversion from your own." -- J.T. Leonard, The Sun

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