Oskar Voxlauer is in flight from his past—from his bourgeois Austrian upbringing; from horrific memories of fighting on the Italian front in 1917 as a teenage recruit; and from the twenty years he has spent in the Ukraine watching his socialist ideals crumble and the life of the woman he loved slowly waste away. Alone, he finally decides to return to the Austrian village of his birth, where his mother is waiting to greet a son she hasn’t seen since he was a boy.
But the year is 1938, and despite Oskar’s attempt to live a reclusive existence as a gamekeeper in the hills, he cannot escape the tensions that are threatening the once tranquil village of Niessen. Hitler marches into Austria and the Black Shirts come to the valley. Voxlauer watches as his Jewish friend and benefactor is driven to ruin. The only things saving him—a 'Red,' a deserter and a 'Yid lover'—from the attentions of the SS seem to be the respect the community has for his parents and his growing love for the mysterious Else Bauer, cousin of the new SS Führer.
In his extraordinary first novel, John Wray has given both a poetic evocation of the Austrian landscape and an acute portrait of the dark side of its past. His subtle and human understanding of the ambiguities of history, the complexities of his characters and the stunning richness of his prose mark him as one of America's most gifted new writers.
BOOK REVIEWS
Media Reviews
"Wray's first novel displays psychological acuity, a mastery of dialogue and an unfailing historical empathy, and should garner deserved raves." - Publishers Weekly.
"More a character study than a moral tale, this is a quietly memorable first novel." - Library Journal.
"Brilliant. ... A truly arresting work of fiction.... Is it really possible, the reader will wonder, for a young American to have written such a book?" – The New York Times Book Review.
"Elegantly written, hypnotic." – The Washington Post Book Review.
"Studded with precise, exquisite descriptions ... Wray is capable of writing with almost painful tenderness.... The Right Hand of Sleep make[s] another time seem astonishingly alive." – Chicago Tribune.
"Wray's novel is hampered by several instances of inconsistent characterization .... Equally confusing are the italicized sections that initially represent Voxlauer's flashback monologues but then turn into Kurt's own recollections late in the book. Such stylistic lapses weaken Wray's otherwise tight web of small-town relationships." - Book Magazine.
"A first novel that's really about something, blessedly free of authorial navel-gazing." - Kirkus Reviews.
Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Alexander Gilgamesh unqualified reviewer This book is quiet and moves along at an enjoyably slow pace. I felt an atmosphere and sense of space as I read it and could read it again right now. I look forward to reading his other books and take pride in such a debut
The information about The Right Hand of Sleep shown above was first featured
in "BookBrowse Previews" - BookBrowse's monthly online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks.
In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel
that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available,
please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, exploring how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high.
Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker's Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
I read The Healing in two sittings it is a fascinating story of plantation life at the beginning of the Civil War. Granada, a slave newborn child...
read more
The Uncommon Reader is a novella by novelist and playwright, Alan Bennett. The story starts with the Queen coming across the mobile library van...
read more
Amazon rumored to be opening bricks and mortar stores(Feb 03 2012) There are mumblings in the blogosphere that Amazon is to open bricks and mortar stores. Launch.it offers four possible scenarios:
B&N "declares war" on Amazon, stating that it will not stock Amazon titles in its stores(Jan 31 2012) Barnes & Noble has decided not to stock books published by Amazon in their physical stores.
According to Jaime Carey, B&N's Chief Merchandising...
Full Story
of 5
by Alexander Gilgamesh
RSS feed
