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Penelope Przekop

Auteur van Aberrations

6 Werken 84 Leden 27 Besprekingen Favoriet van 2 leden

Over de Auteur

Bevat de naam: Penelope Przekop

Werken van Penelope Przekop

Aberrations (2008) 71 exemplaren
Centerpieces (2011) 4 exemplaren
Please Love Me (2013) 2 exemplaren
Dust (2013) 1 exemplaar

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geboortedatum
1966-07-20
Geslacht
female
Nationaliteit
USA
Woonplaatsen
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Opleiding
Louisiana State University (BS)
Southern Polytechnic State University (MS)
Beroepen
writer
consultant (pharmaceutical industry)
artist
Organisaties
American Society for Quality - Senior Member
Narcolepsy Network
Agent
Christi Cardenas (Agent)
Brian Feinblum (Publicist)
Korte biografie
Penelope Przekop is the author of Aberrations: A Novel (Emerald/Greenleaf) and Six Sigma for Business Excellence (McGraw-Hill). Her blog, Aberration Nation, provides weekly thought-provoking essays encompassing various universal themes such as truth, forgiveness, choice, boundaries, relationships, etc. Penelope has a BS in Biology and an MS in Quality Assurance/Systems. Most recently, she was a director for Johnson & Johnson.

Her debut novel, Aberrations, follows the plight of Angel Duet, a young woman struggling with narcolepsy. The novel covers numerious universal themes such as mental illness, parenthood, individuality, friendship, and love. Aberrations is being hailed as the sleeper surprise of the summer!

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Besprekingen

Penelope Przekop's latest book, Centerpieces, is first and foremost a study about art, and the importance that art can have in a person's life. History tells us that Vincent van Gogh shot himself in 1890, but what if he faked his death? What if he was still alive today? What if his brother, Theo, was still alive, too? What has been keeping them alive and what has been their driving force all these years?

I'm not going to lie, I found Centerpieces completely intriguing and compelling, but I don't even know how to describe it. I'm not really sure I've ever read anything like it before. I felt there were just as many questions at the end of the book as there were at the beginning (what exactly are Theo and Vincent, what has kept them alive for so long, what part does the drug taperaquin play in their extended lives), but somehow these questions didn't really need answering at the end. If you just accept the fact that van Gogh is alive 100+ years after his death, that there may be more to his existence and what he has become that what is said, then you will have no problem making your way through this story.

Przekop has said that she wrote this book as an answer to questions she had raised in her own life while working for a pharmaceutical company and wanting to lead a more artistic life. I can see a lot of this conundrum in both Ellis and Holly, as they try to find their way in the regimented world of pharmaceuticals while their actual calling in life is art. Przekop masterfully weaves their lives together, with elements from both the past and present, to help them reach their ultimate potential, as both people and as artists.

Like her book, Aberrations, Przekop takes people with everyday problems and makes their story into something that needs to be told. With Aberrations, it was accepting yourself for who you are regardless of what others think about you. With Centerpieces, it's about finally accepting the parts of your life that may not fit in with the path that you thought you planned for yourself, and deciding that sometimes you need to strike out on that unfamiliar path, even if it means walking away from what you think your life is all about.

Obviously extensively researched, Przekop weaves van Gogh's art, his life, his family and actual historic events together to create a story that is both about humanity and art. What exactly are Vincent and Theo in this modern world? We may never know for sure, but their story is one of brotherly love and of art, and one that I enjoyed reading. I hope to see more of Przekop's stories published in the future. Hers is a unique voice in the literary world that needs to be heard.
… (meer)
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Gemarkeerd
tapestry100 | Jun 19, 2011 |
Deze bespreking was geschreven voorLibraryThing lid Weggevers.
I enjoyed Aberrations. The characters are compelling and seem real. The storyline keeps you interested until the very end. My main complaint with the book is that I think it tries to do too much at once. It attempts to address narcolepsy, schizophrenia, homosexuality, single motherhood, adultery, etc. all in the same story. With so many important topics, I feel as if some of them aren't done justice. That said, its still a very interesting read.
1 stem
Gemarkeerd
theresa2011 | 25 andere besprekingen | Jun 9, 2009 |
Deze bespreking was geschreven voorLibraryThing lid Weggevers.
A great read! Aberrations is the story of Angel Duet a young, narcoleptic woman searching for truth. It is a story of forming and ending relationships, of disability, and of love. This book is full of interesting twists that will keep the reader hooked from the first to last page. Would make a good choice for a book club selection.
1 stem
Gemarkeerd
chris227 | 25 andere besprekingen | Jun 5, 2009 |
Deze bespreking was geschreven voorLibraryThing lid Weggevers.
What I found most enjoyable about this novel was the exploration of the need for truth. Ms. Przekop makes good use of the idea of being trapped by lies - almost everyone in the novel is harmed by the lies they live with. Watching Angel "wake up" enough to begin to recognize the lies, and become transformed through her journey to truth was enlightening. And I liked that Carla wasn't the "evil stepmom" but the agent for introducing truth. This is a "southern" novel, and some of the vernacular was intrusive for me - I kept being surprised by "thang". Also, I was uncomfortable with Angel's thoughts that a baby would make everything different - that she would have someone to fill that "mother" need. Too many girls have babies to "get" something, instead of "give" something. Fortunately, Angel has a good support system to make sure her baby is well-cared for. My copy has a great set of book club questions.… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
tjsjohanna | 25 andere besprekingen | May 18, 2009 |

Statistieken

Werken
6
Leden
84
Populariteit
#216,911
Waardering
4.0
Besprekingen
27
ISBNs
12
Favoriet
2

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