The Auburn Public Library presents an Author talk with Art Dingley, where he will read from his novel, "Immigrants," and invites the community to discuss it with him.

About the Book: "Immigrants"

Maryam, an Israeli Bedouin woman, has purchased a moribund little convenience store in the town of Deep Lake, at the edge of the Maine’s commercial forest. Micah, a law school dropout from Millinocket, is working for a logging contractor and trying to construct a vision of his future. These two unlikely friends navigate deep-seated differences in culture and religion, both helped and hindered by the tableau of townsfolk.

Into this social web, falls Lena, a young woman lost, camping, or hiding in a remote spot near the Canadian border. Micah and Maryam are skeptical of her evolving explanation of why she is there. Is she a victim of international espionage, or just a common thief?

Will Maryam and Micah persevere in their friendship despite the interference of Maryam’s persuasive, and very rich, Arab uncle, the scheming of certain townsfolk, and the repentance of Micah’s ex-wife?

"Immigrants" is a rich description of that part of Maine which may be found on Maps 60 through 64 of the DeLorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. Neither a crime novel nor a romance, it is a consideration of changing borders: between people, cultures, and countries.

About the Author: Art Dingley

Art Dingley was born in Farmington, Maine, and grew up in Concord Plantation, near the small town of Bingham. With sons, Zeb and Nathan, and many excellent friends, he has climbed, canoed, hiked, hunted, and fished for trout across the Pine Tree State. Although he lived in Portland neighborhoods for forty years, he has lived in many other Maine towns as well. He currently lives in Auburn with his wife, Tami. He is a former attorney and a retired physician.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.