A debut novel for a Sitka writer captures the lure of a last chance in Alaska and has landed on the Cordova Public Library’s shelves. “The Alaskan Laundry” tells the story of Tara Marconi. Her mother’s death left her unmoored, with a seemingly impassable rift between her and her father.
She has made her way from Philly to ‘The Rock,” a remote island in Alaska governed by the seasons. But in this majestic, rugged frontier she works her way up the commercial fishing ladder – from hatchery assistant all the way to king crabber. Disciplined from years as a young boxer, she learns anew what it means to work, to connect, and – through an unlikely old tugboat – how to make a home she knows is her own.
A testament to the places that shape us and the places that change us, “The Alaskan Laundry” tells on woman’s unforgettable journey back to the possibility of love.
Brendan Jones is the author of the novel “The Alaskan Laundry.” He is a recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Fundacion Valparaiso and Ragdale., he is currently a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He has had work in the New York Times, Ploughshares, Narrative Magazine, Popular Woodworking, The Huffington Post and recorded commentaries for NPR.
Raised in Philadelphia, he took the Greyhound west at the age of 19, ending up in Sitka, Alaska. He graduated from Oxford University, where he boxed for the Blues team, then returned to Alaska to commercial fish. He was a general contractor for seven years in Philadelphia, before heading back to Sitka, where he now lives, commercial fishing and renovating a WWII tugboat.
The Cordova Public Library is open:
Tuesday – Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday Noon – 5 p.m.
Join us for our after school activities at your library
Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. is Pokemon Club.
Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. it’s Board Game Palooza
Fridays from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. it’s After School Art for ages Pre-K to 3rd grade
