cover image The Sixteenth of June

The Sixteenth of June

Maya Lang. Scribner, $25 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4767-4574-9

June 16 is, of course, Bloomsday—the day on which Joyce’s Ulysses takes place. Brothers Stephen and Leopold were named for the book’s two protagonists by their parents, the Portmans, a well-to-do Philadelphia couple who are lifelong Joyce fans. Naturally, the Portmans celebrate Bloomsday every year, and the sudden death of the husband’s mother on June 16, 2004, won’t be allowed to spoil the festivities. As adults, the brothers are polar opposites: Leo is hearty and unintellectual, while Stephen is a cerebral grad student unable, or unwilling, to complete his dissertation. Stephen is best friends with Leo’s fiancée, Nora, a lapsed opera singer grieving for her mother. Over the course of the day, each character confronts issues in his or her life. Leo wishes Nora would cheer up and marry him, Nora is worried about their relationship, and Stephen resents his family for not mourning his grandmother’s death deeply enough. And then, at the end, things somehow work out. Is it the magic of Joyce? Hard to say, but while Lang’s love for the author is evident, it’s not clear why the patron saint of difficult literature has been so elaborately invoked for this straightforward, mild-mannered tale of love and family. Agent: Miriam Altshuler, Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency. (June)