Get Lit December Book Club: Taffy Brodesser-Akner with musical guest Suzanne Vega

Join WNYC's Alison Stewart and Taffy Brodesser-Akner for a live conversation about her newest book, Long Island Compromise, followed by a special musical performance from Suzanne Vega.

The New York Public Library and WNYC—two indispensable New York institutions—are partnering to host a book club that brings New Yorkers together and fosters community.

The December title is Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Long Island Compromise, an exhilarating novel about one American family, the dark moment that shatters their suburban paradise, and the wild legacy of trauma and inheritance.

In 1980, wealthy businessman Carl Fletcher is kidnapped from his driveway on the nicest part of Long Island, brutalized, and held for ransom. He is returned to his wife and kids less than a week later, only slightly the worse. But nearly forty years later, it becomes clear that perhaps nobody ever got over anything as the family confronts the mainstays of American Jewish life: tradition, the pursuit of success, the terror of history, fear of the future, old wives’ tales, evil eyes, ambition, achievement, boredom, orgies, dybbuks, inheritance, pyramid schemes, right-wing capitalists, beta-blockers, and the mostly unspoken love and shared experience that unite a family forever.

Throughout the month, All of It host Alison Stewart and the Library will accompany readers, providing touchpoints on-air and on social media at @allofitwnyc and @nypl. Borrow the book (and more than 300,000 others) for free through the Library’s e-reader app SimplyE, available for iOS and Android devices.

Join Stewart, the author, and readers everywhere for a live conversation, in-person or online, on Wednesday, December 4 at 6 PM. The conversation will be followed by a special musical performance from Suzanne Vega.

To join in person | Please be sure to register for an In-Person Ticket. Doors will open 30 minutes before the program. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.

To join the livestream | A livestream of this event will be available on the NYPL event page. To receive an email reminder shortly in advance of the event, please be sure to register!

COVID PROTOCOLS FOR IN-PERSON PROGRAMS

The New York Public Library no longer mandates proof of vaccination at large-scale public events.

If you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or suspect you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, please stay home.

ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

GET THE BOOK

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• E-Book app: SimplyE, soon available on iOS and Android

Don't have a New York Public Library card? Get one here!

To see all of our previous WNYC Get Lit titles check out our book club page here!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the New York Times bestselling author of Fleishman Is in Trouble, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She is also the creator and executive producer of its Emmy-nominated limited series adaptation for FX. Long Island Compromise is her second novel.

ABOUT THE PERFORMER

Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation or any other, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka,” “Marlene on the Wall” and “Tom’s Diner,” an a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo DNA and became a major club hit. It remains an oft-sampled and covered standard by artists across the musical spectrum. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, follow-up Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies worldwide. Vega’s most recent release, the career-spanning album An Evening of New York Songs and Stories (Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl) was hailed by the Associated Press as “an excellent Vega primer, an artist who still merits being on your radar no matter what your hometown may be.”

CONNECT

Please submit all press inquiries at least 48 hours before the event by emailing press@nypl.org or by using this Gmail template.

For all other questions and inquiries, please email adultprogramming@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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