Beyond the Book: Background information when reading The Sea

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Sea by John Banville

The Sea

by John Banville
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (13):
  • First Published:
  • Nov 1, 2005, 195 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Aug 2006, 208 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Beyond the Book

This article relates to The Sea

Print Review

The Booker Prize was established by the Booker McConnell company in 1969, and is  considered to be one of most important literary awards in the UK, if not the most important. In recent years it has been sponsored by the Man Group, an investment company, and thus is officially known as The Man Booker Prize, but is more often referred to simply as 'The Booker'.

Pierre Bonnard: Max has a tendency to muse over the paintings of Pierre Bonnard and in particular Bonnard's paintings of his wife, Marthe, in the bath.  abcgallery.com has a good collection of Bonnard's pictures if you're interested in taking a look, and if you do, spare a thought for poor old Marthe and think how lucky you are not to be married to an artist who paints pictures of you in the bathtub - unless of course you are!

John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945, and lives in Dublin. Between 1988 and 1999 he was the literary editor of the Irish Times. His first book, Long Lankin, a collection of short stories, was published in 1970. It was followed by two novels, Nightspawn (1971) and Birchwood (1973); and then by Dr Copernicus, which won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and was followed by a series of novels exploring the lives of eminent scientists.

Bibliography (dates and titles reflect UK publications)
Long Lankin, 1970
Nightspawn, 1971
Birchwood,1973
Dr Copernicus, 1976
Kepler, 1981
The Newton Letter: An Interlude, 1982
Mefisto, 1986
The Book of Evidence, 1989
Ghosts, 1993
Athena, 1995
The Ark, 1996
The Untouchable, 1997
Eclipse, 2000
Shroud, 2002
Prague Pictures: Portrait of a City, 2003
The Sea, 2005.

Filed under

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Sea. It originally ran in January 2006 and has been updated for the August 2006 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!
Book Club Giveaway!
Win L.A. Women

L.A. Women by Ella Berman

Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.

Enter

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
    by David Woo, Margalit Shinar
    Nine linked stories reveal how globalization sparks life-changing consequences across continents.
  • Book Jacket
    Chelsea Girls
    by Catherine Lloyd
    A glamorous biographical novel on Mary Quant, whose daring design of the miniskirt revolutionized fashion.
  • Book Jacket
    Days of Sun and Shadow
    by India Hayford
    A young woman’s coming-of-age story set in the early American frontier, shaped by tragedy, nature, and resilience.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    An Infinite Love Story
    by Chanel Cleeton
    “A tender, romantic drama that soars as high as it’s astronauts.” —Kate Quinn
  • Book Jacket
    Summer of Love
    by Kerri Maher
    Three women reshape their family's Napa Valley winery after the 1967 Summer of Love.
Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

The C is A R

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.