A Life Apart – A Novel - Couverture souple

Mukherjee, Neel

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0393352102 ISBN 13 : 9780393352108

Editeur : W. W. Norton & Company, 2016

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

WINNER OF THE VODAFONE-CROSSWORD AWARD, INDIA'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS LITERARY PRIZE. 'Incisive and poetic, sensual and intelligent. A book with great breadth, heart and courage.' ALI SMITH. 'One of the most intense and disturbing first novels I have read in many years.' PANKAJ MISHRA. 'A Life Apart' tells two stories. The first is of Ritwik's; a story of a young man's escape from a blighted childhood of squalor and abuse in Calcutta to the edge of what he considers to be a new world, full of possibilities, in England, where he has a chance to rebuild his life and start all over again. But his past, especially the scarred, all-consuming relationship with his recently-dead mother, is a minefield: will Ritwik find the salvation he's looking for? Could it arrive in the form of the second story that comprises the novel, the one he is writing himself, the story of Miss Gilby, a marginal character from a Tagore novel? Or could it be in the figure of eighty-six-year-old Anne Cameron, fragile and damaged, who gives shelter to Ritwik in London in exchange of the care that she needs? As present and past of several lives collide, Ritwik's own goes into free fall. Critically acclaimed when it was first published in India in 2008, this award-winning debut redefines the enigma of arrival for what has been called the multicultural society and is equally powerful in its depiction of India as in its portrayal of England. Written with unrelenting honesty, the ambitious narrative confronts the larger questions of human frailty and the strange manifestations of love. Unsentimental yet full of compassion, and written in prose of spare, lyrical beauty, 'A Life Apart' is a scorching novel that marks a new turning point in writing from and of the Subcontinent. Complete review coverage: 'Mukherjee has a big heart and an unflinching gaze and the result is shockingly good.' Rose Tremain, Daily Telegraph. 'The writing ... has a sculptured clarity. Assured and fearless. ... This is subtle, precise writing that penetrates character and motive with astringent humour.' Helen Dunmore, The Times. 'There are a lot of subtle cultural ironies in Neel Mukherjee s debut novel, which is what makes the book such a delight. ... A Life Apart is an elegant and accomplished debut, a novel of many shades. It blends the poignancy of a coming-of-age story with the rawer excitements of an urban thriller laced with sex and violence.' David Robson, Sunday Telegraph. 'Mukherjee deftly interweaves the worlds of the arms trade, sex workers, fruit pickers and the Daily Mail, while also casting a light on the economic policies of the Raj, communal violence and the fragility of relationships conducted under the glare of history. But he never loses sight of his characters and their emotional upheaval. The growing tension is expertly handled; the ending unsurprising yet completely devastating.' Kamila Shamsie, Guardian. 'Impressive. ... Mukherjee writes wryly and wonderfully. ... Not since Alan Hollinghurst's The Swimming Pool Library have I been as engaged by an imagining of gay twilight. ... Deeply engaging and brilliantly observed.' Mark Turner, Independent. Rich and nuanced. Mukherjee is excellent on what motivates people to act the way they do.' Daily Telegraph

Revue de presse :

Sharp, disturbing and precisely written .--A.S. Byatt, TLS.
< br/> Mukherjee writes fearless prose, cut with wry humour and extraordinary compassion .--Rose Tremain, Sunday Telegraph.
< br/> The writing ... has a sculptured clarity. Assured and fearless. ... This is subtle, precise writing that penetrates character and motive with astringent humour. --The Times.
< br/> There are a lot of subtle cultural ironies in Neel Mukherjee s debut novel, which is what makes the book such a delight. ... A Life Apart is an elegant and accomplished debut, a novel of many shades. It blends the poignancy of a coming-of-age story with the rawer excitements of an urban thriller laced with sex and violence. --Sunday Telegraph.
< br/> Mukherjee deftly interweaves the worlds of the arms trade, sex workers, fruit pickers and the Daily Mail, while also casting a light on the economic policies of the Raj, communal violence and the fragility of relationships conducted under the glare of history. But he never loses sight of his characters and their emotional upheaval. The growing tension is expertly handled; the ending unsurprising yet completely devastating. --The Guardian.
< br/> Rich and nuanced ... Mukherjee is excellent on what motivates people to act the way they do. --The Daily Telegraph.
< br/> Impressive. ... Mukherjee writes wryly and wonderfully. ... Not since Alan Hollinghurst s The Swimming Pool Library have I been as engaged by an imagining of gay twilight. ... Deeply engaging and brilliantly observed. --The Independent.
< br/> Mukherjee summons place and character brilliantly and unflinchingly in pages redolent with detail. His metaphysical vision, of course, is just as acute. --TIME Magazine.
< br/> Ambitious and subtly written. --The Sunday Times.
< br/> Beautifully written and intelligently perceptive, A Life Apart is a novel about difference and expectation and the ironies that punctuate the middle ground between them. ... A wonderfully assured and fresh debut . --Literary Review.

The writing ... has a sculptured clarity. Assured and fearless. ... This is subtle, precise writing that penetrates character and motive with astringent humour. --Helen Dunmore, The Times

Mukherjee writes wryly and wonderfully ... Deeply engaging and brilliantly observed. --Mark Turner, Independent

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: W. W. Norton & Company
• Date d'édition: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0393352102
• ISBN 13: 9780393352108
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 384