Brooklynite to release coming-of-age novel on Oct. 30

Brooklyn BookBeat

October 16, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Brooklyn writer Judy Chicurel will launch her novel “If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go” in Cobble Hill on Oct. 30. Photo by Marcia Klugman

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Brooklynite Judy Chicurel’s novel, “If I Knew You Were Going to be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go,” (released on Oct. 30) unfolds a coming-of-age story that zones in on recent high school graduates as they navigate through their summer between childhood and adulthood at a shabby town.

The book will be launched at BookCourt on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The event also includes a release party, reading, audience Q&A and refreshments.

Observed through the perceptive eyes of Katie, life among the denizens of Elephant Beach comprises a blend of clinging to convention and yearning for something more.

While the novel takes place in the 1970s at Elephant Beach, the setting is seemingly parallel to where the author grew up.

“I grew up in Long Beach, Long Island,” Chicurel said, referring to the genesis of her debut. “In those days, Long Beach was a haven of funk, with crumbling old hotels lining the boardwalk, seedy bars, a honky-tonk arcade where we played endless games of Skee ball, hoping to win enough tickets to purchase the tacky set of dishes in the display case… You grew up thinking it was like this everywhere… I really thought the world was one big boardwalk/arcade/amusement park.”

Chicurel’s work has appeared in regional, national, and international publications, including The New York Times, Newsday and Granta. Her plays have been produced and performed in Manhattan. She lives by the water in Brooklyn.