Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jan 2009
288 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
In her new novel, D'Erasmo reaches back to Ovid for inspiration in this tale of how the mythic animates our everyday lives. At thirty-seven, Gabriel Collins works halfheartedly as an obituary writer at a fading newspaper in lower Manhattan, which, since 9/11, feels like a city of the dead. This once dreamy and appealing boy has turned from a rebellious adolescent to an adult who trades in petty crimes.His wealthy, older boyfriend is indulgent of him—to a point. But after a brush with his own mortality, Gabriel must flee to Mexico in order to put himself back together. By novel's end, we know all of Gabriel's ratty little secrets, but by dint of D'Erasmo's spectacular writing, we exult in the story of an imperfect man who—tested by a world that is often too much for him—rises to meet the challenge.
"Starred Review. This is a demanding and immensely satisfying novel, and certainly one of the better New York artist novels in recent memory." - Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week.
"Despite D'Erasmo's dexterity of language and approachable writing style, the double whammy of unlikable characters and an unruly plot makes it a forgettable reading experience." - Library Journal.
"It’s a long, strange trip laced with literary allusions and rendered in prose at once pristine and hallucinatory .... " - Booklist
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Stacey D’Erasmo is the author of the novels Tea, (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year); and A Seahorse Year, which was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and Newsday, and won a Lambda Literary Award. She was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction from 1995-1997. Her essays, features, and reviews have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, and Ploughshares. She is currently an assistant professor of writing at Columbia University.
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