Around the Sun

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Pub Date Jun 01 2020 | Archive Date Nov 15 2020

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Description

Mark White appears to have it all as the head of a prestigious PR firm in Washington, DC. But in the aftermath of his wife’s sudden death, he is struggling to raise his eight-year-old son, Colin. When he takes on a controversial new technology startup mid-scandal and weeks before their IPO, Mark’s world rapidly begins to unravel. Adrift, Mark is soon forced to make life-altering choices that will affect his bond with Colin, the legacy of his deceased wife’s unsold paintings, and, most importantly, his relationship with himself. Set at intervals in present-day New York, San Francisco, Barbados, Italy, and Barcelona, Around the Sun is told in lush, graceful prose, a portrait of grief and hope in the age of social media, globalization, and artistic decadence.


Mark White appears to have it all as the head of a prestigious PR firm in Washington, DC. But in the aftermath of his wife’s sudden death, he is struggling to raise his eight-year-old son, Colin...


Advance Praise

This novel about pain and a search for redemption centers on a power broker in Washington, D.C.

It’s 2016, and Mark White, a 40-something widower, is in even worse shape than he realizes, which would surprise many people. He is the founder and CEO of White & Partners, a tremendously successful public relations firm in Washington that has clients all over the world, including in many emerging nations, within high-tech start-ups, and in domestic government entities. For those who need their companies’ reputations burnished or, just as important, salvaged, White & Partners is their best bet, their go-to. But after Mark’s wife, Monica, a very successful artist, was killed in a hit-and-run accident, leaving him with their young son, Colin, the magnate fell into a deep depression. Now he is gulping pills and drinking too much while trying to be a corporate superman. Soon, exhausted and rattled, he breaks down and White & Partners suffers, big time. And on top of this, he knows that he is neglecting Colin, who, not surprising, has trouble coping himself. Will Mark work out a salvation for himself and his boy? Bovim writes very well. Readers see the story through Mark’s eyes, so the narration is a vivid part of it. Mark is a keen student of his surroundings and his own troubled soul, introspective almost to a fault. Here is part of his bitter reverie on San Francisco: “I thought about…the wannabe Beat poets…blocked novelists, failed and miserable, destitute jazz pianists and confused painters who still believed that they were one masterful triptych away from a retrospective at the Pompidou.” He describes his own numb travels (and travails) as continually “traversing the continent on United’s weary fleet.” What drives the engrossing book’s second half, the hunt for redemption portion, is Mark’s affection for his son, a genuine love even if it is saturated with guilt. Readers will be fervently hoping for the hero to triumph, silently cheering him on. Colin is preternaturally wise as father and son try to work together to save themselves.

A family tale for modern times—detailed, thorough, and thoughtful—that rings true throughout.

-- KIRKUS

This novel about pain and a search for redemption centers on a power broker in Washington, D.C.

It’s 2016, and Mark White, a 40-something widower, is in even worse shape than he realizes, which would...


Available Editions

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ISBN 9781951937386
PRICE $18.75 (USD)

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Average rating from 72 members


Featured Reviews

Really liked this read, it was a different subject to what I’ve read before! I found some parts slightly wordy, and it started off as a slow burner but thoroughly enjoyed the ending!

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This is an astoundingly evocative debut novel by a new writer. Extremely well-written and gorgeous prose. A unique storyline that lives up to the praise offered in the Kirkus review. An absolute must read.

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Around the sun
Eric Micheal bovine
Adult fiction grief
June 1st 2020
Spoiler alert

This is a book full os surprises you either hate it or love it. I love it it’s about mark white who lost is wife in a car accident and bringing up his son Colin who eight years old. He hires a nanny two look after Colin while he runs his own business and go on expensive first class trips. He has his own businesses white and partners company. He the chief executive of white and partners is co workers are lars Alan sally hawthorn. The company just bought bitcoin and set up allot of technology apps and invest in first and firms invest in his. He a multi million company.
He traveled allot on business planes first class two Barcelona New York Paris California. And other luxury places he loves having coffee and champagne on the flights where he checks his email and his phone and the food his great on these flights if people offer him a newspaper he waves them off he doesn’t read newspapers as a rule. He talks about his wife allot in the book how she died and how he misses her how he loved the smell of her perfume and how they met in college and how they met. He loved poetry he had a piece published when he was young he enjoyed parties in. College his parents paid for him two go two university. He loved music. He become a journalist for two years and loved it but it was dangerous. He explain that when his wife dies he took up the idea of pills and whisky. And he not had another girlfriend since his wife died. The idea haunts him.
His colon misses him terrible he wants two spend more time with his son more than just two days a week. His plays hockey so when mark get the chance he takes him two practices and he I’ve doing these thing reading him a bed time story putting him two bed making him pancakes in the morning before school.
But he notices that colon not doing so great in school he only got a c in maths and tell him school important and he must concentrate in school. Colin says you never here you never help me and that make him feels guilty allot for not being supported. Then he had important meeting with the firm and Lars and fung got engaged in the meeting he reckons it be good press for his firm.
He loves buying expensive ties and suits for his firms. After the meeting he asked two go on tv two represent the firm but realising he taken two many pills and whisky before going on tv he collapsed in front of everyone and doesn’t go down well for his company or firm he then decided two gave a massage and that night he slept with a married woman and regretted ever since.
I love the fact you get drawn into the coffee shop the restaurant the fancy sandwiches the bakery the hot chocolate.
After thing didn’t go well in the meeting when he got home and realisers is son need him more his nanny told him he not coping when you not here he goes two cbs and buys a load of stationary supplies and a new bag for him and they have a chat. He then takes him two the doctors and he gets the cream for his rash and mouth put it on him and they spend a couple of days together in the snow storm has his company shut for a couple of day. They go two the museum Together and they happy they go two the bakery now and have pastry coffee and watch the snow for a while. Then that night mark takes him two Barbados for a couple of days they arrive the next day they have a nice house they love the beach they go on a boat trip together and when Mark discovers his son Colin says his mother on Facebook and there loads of photos of them together and they look through them.They have a lovely trip it was worth’s it.
The next days he decides thing are not going well in work or his business and he sells the business and walk away a free man and spend more time with his son and takes him on another hoiliday again and realisers it’s all about him.
I love the characters in this book I loved the writing the plot was good I love how mark white dealt with things I give this 4 stars rating.

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The author captured Mark's struggle between success and grief over the loss of his wife in a realistic manner. The emotion felt by Mark came across when he started his self-destructive behaviors . This is a great book for anyone that likes character driven reads.

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As this story opens, the reader is tethered to the narrator, a shameless, jet-setting executive living a life of nearly Wolf of Wall Street-level excess. The staccato dialogue is quippy and knife-sharp, effortlessly evoking a man both over-stimulated and utterly unconcerned. The world seems to be rushing around him, and the man is portrayed as both volatile and self-destructive. Throughout part one, there is this feeling of impending doom lurking behind the words, like the plot is careening towards some unknown catastrophe.

In part two, the frenetic crush of activity, chaos, and disaster is followed by a subtle unwinding. The reader is given some room to breathe; brief moments of lucidity and lyricism in which we are offered snippets of the past. The flashbacks are revealing without being overindulgent; they are woven into the flow of the narrative with little to no preamble. Blink and you might miss them.

Finally, in part three, the empathy we have built with the narrator is rewarded. The reader stays tethered to the protagonist's thoughts as we soak in his character arc. We get to watch as the point of view of the jet-setter unravels to allow the role of the single, grieving dad to come forward. We are shown a sample of the narrator's appreciation for art, poetry, and music that has been as yet suppressed--this soul food cutting through his harder outer layers.

In reflection, this story feels deeply personal to me--not in the sense that I resonate with the protagonist, but rather that his experiences were painted so vividly that I began to take on his feelings and apprehensions as my own. I think this debut from Eric Michael Bovim showed incredible strength. I can only hope to see more!

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After a slow start, readers may settle into a good story. This is literature so there are no action scenes, just a story about relationships and well-written characters. It's a little emotional at times, and gratifying overall.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

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Around the sun By Eric Michael Bovim was a wild trip of writing where it felt stream of consciousness from the first person point of view. The style is something very unique in which something I have never seen or experienced.

The character Mark White works in a Big PR clean up firm and is grieving over his wife's death. He is a single father who keeps spiraling out of one big problem into another while trying to be a father however in some ways its kind of absent. He basically overworks himself and drugs himself with anti depressants and alcohol to feel numb to any feelings or grief. He sees her everywhere ( her name was Monica White) It feels like a downwards spiral and he has to create a perfect image. Her memory haunts her like a ghost. While his child Colin needs his attention and love and to talk about what happened that his dad just doesn't want to talk about her or anything.

In a job where you have to deal with social media also with news fading more it can attack any company at any angle you are paid to clean it up with a ton of money. He is getting an account onespeak where the creators Lars and Fung had an incident. His Job is to fix it however he gets dragged in a spiraling problem of not coming through or possibly not coming through with empty promises.

This is an amazing book with a really complex story.
Thank you net galley for this arc

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