Name: An Exaltation of Larks
ISBN: 9780692177235

Laqueur Suanne

Grand Prize winner of the 2017 Writer's Digest Book Awards. An Exaltation of Larks is a compelling novel about sexual attraction and the price of love. Across two decades, the paths of a married couple and a male escort cross, leading first to friendship, then to family, and finally to a dark exaltation that threatens all they hold dear.

An Exaltation of Larks

Suanne Laqueur

"We're so alike, you and I. It's no wonder we kept finding each other." September 11, 1973: Eleven-year-old Alejandro Penda watches from his apartment window as Santiago, Chile falls to a military coup, destroying his family and his childhood. Arriving alone in America, he’s taken in by the Larks: a prominent family in the town of Guelisten. Though burdened by unresolved grief for his disappeared parents, he becomes fiercely loyal to the Larks, eventually marrying one of their daughters, Valerie. September 11, 2001: Javier Landes watches from his apartment window as New York City falls to terrorism. As one of Manhattan’s top-paid male escorts, this professional lover has never lacked for company and is loyal only to himself. But in the wake of 9/11, Jav is named guardian for an orphaned nephew in Guelisten and must open his carefully-guarded heart to pain he's long suppressed. Alex, Valerie and Jav meet first in their twenties, with a sudden attraction each finds strange and compelling. When they meet again in their forties, they discover not only is their bond still strong, but their life experiences are strangely similar. All have been shaped by separate 9/11's, and their unfinished business from the past will change everything they know about love, loyalty and friendship. "Life has rules. You cannot come in the middle of the night and take what we agreed isn't yours." Across three decades and two continents, Suanne Laqueur's fifth novel explores the unpredictability of sexual attraction, how family ties are forged, torn and mended, and how love's downfall can turn to exaltation.

Jasmine

Update reread Jan 07 2019:

FUCKING HELL THIS BOOK!❤❤ I promised myself I would one day read this book over again and I'm beyond ecstatic I actually did it (almost exactly two years later)!!! There is something magical about the way Suanne writes her stories and her characters that is so unique and unforgettable that everything around me disappears because I get so lost in her words!! Rereading yet another one of her books, it's overwhelming the number of feelings I was able to experience all over again. Also, all the details I missed the first time and how they all pieced together so flawlessly, I think that made me fall even more in love with this book!! PHENOMENAL!! Still an all-time favorite, An Exaltation of Larks really sticks with me and has a place in my heart!
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January 8th 2017
6 Stars
WOW! I'm so freaking glad I waited til January to read this book because I'm sure this is going to stick with me way past the new year, what an unforgettable read!! I feel like I've lived several different lives in the span of reading this book, it just blew me away. I've never read another book like this!! I think this is just one of those books you have to go into with zero expectations because this is not an easy one to explain to begin with, and chances are you will change your opinion several times anyway. I don't know how to classify this book because it's so much more than a romance, it just about life and how we are all human and a little bit broken. It deals with family, diversity, sexuality, trauma, and love in a very real way. I grew so attached to all the characters and their relationships, I cried and laughed several times. All I know is if Suanne Laqueur is writing it, then I'm reading it! So yeah, if you want something that has a great romance but also a whole lot more, then just read one of her books because they're all honestly phenomenal! Can't wait to read A Charm of Finches when it comes out and more of Jav's journey because I love him.

Sahi K

WOWWWW.... !!!! What do I say about a book that swept me off my feet and also threw me down mercilessly multiple times. The author weaves a beautiful narrative around these people and her magical words are just so unforgettable.

Alex comes to America as a refugee after Pinochet's coup in Chile but leaves behind his parents. He lives with his Uncle but also becomes a defacto member of the Lark family. Val Lark's connection to him is instantaneous and though they grow up together after his Uncle's death, and go separate ways for college, their thoughts are never far from each other. An innocent drunken mistake leads to Jav being kicked out and abandoned by his family, except when they want to beat him up or collect money. But he picks himself up and does whatever he can to survive, ultimately becoming one of the highest paid male escorts of New York city.

This is the story of their lives through more than three decades. Fate keeps throwing in each other's paths in very unexpected ways and it was fascinating to travel with them on their journeys. Every character in this story has experienced profound loss but they survive, they find love and friends and family, they never let go of hope. I fell in love with everyone - with all their flaws and anxieties and strengths - they all just felt so real to me. But Jav was my instant favorite and I can't articulate properly why. He loses everything but still survives - over and over again. Anyone else would have broken irrevocably but his strength is remarkable. I cried so many times for him and I just wanted him to find someone he could be himself with.

The writing in this book is nothing less than enchanting. The author brings these characters, their happiness and pain to life using her words. The beauty of love, the power of found family, the horrifying effects that events like the coup in Chile and 9/11 have on the survivors for decades to come - the author captures all these emotions so effectively that we can't help but feel all of it.

I can try but I will never be able to do justice to the awesomeness of this book through my review. Don't read the reviews, don't read the blurb, just go for this one. It's a beautiful exploration of life and you will not regret reading it.

Pippa 

This book was way out of my comfort zone but I'm happy i picked it up. The writing was really beautiful and i felt very connected with the characters,