Dazzling novel from Carol Shields, author of ‘The Stone Diaries’, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and ‘Larry’s Party’, winner of the Orange Prize.
‘Breathtaking...a masterpiece.’ Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail
Reta Winters has a loving family, good friends, and growing success as a writer of light fiction. Then her eldest daughter suddenly withdraws from the world, abandoning university to sit on a street corner, wearing a sign that reads only ‘Goodness’. As Reta seeks the causes of her daughter’s retreat, her enquiry turns into an unflinching, often very funny meditation on society and where we find meaning and hope. ‘Unless’ is a dazzling and daring novel from the undisputed master of extraordinary fictions about so-called ‘ordinary’ lives.
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Towards the end of Unless its central character, fortysomething Reta Winters--wife, mother, editor, translator and recent novelist--takes issue with how an eminent critic has belatedly bestowed status on her first novel, My Thyme is Up. What had been judged until then as her "fresh, bright springtime piece of fiction" has become... 'a brilliant tour de force', says Professor Casey, and this quote will, of course, appear on the jacket of the sequel...in the same size type as the name Reta Winters, but I am trying not to think what that means." This is just one of countless delicious asides (yet none of Shields' asides are ever throwaway) which Reta makes in her light, self-mocking tone; indeed, she sees herself as a woman for whom "tragedy was someone not liking my book".
But into her happy family comes a situation which overshadows all else: the eldest of Reta's three daughters becomes a bag lady on a Toronto street corner, obsessed by goodness, but refusing to speak or be spoken to. This threnody of loss and grief, and Reta's consequent self-questioning, is at the heart of the narrative. Running alongside are chapters taking up Reta's other selves, each narrated in a very different register: Reta as the translator of French feminist texts; Reta as purposeful, and increasingly driven letter writer on the subject of women's exclusion; the frayed author trying to complete her sequel, Thyme in Bloom, in the face of harassment by an editor of woefully dumb and obdurate incomprehension. This woman of many parts allows Shields to reflect--wittily, thoughtfully, playfully, and with wicked subversiveness--on issues of power, on the nature of goodness, the meaning of family, and the place of women. Crucially, she asks how--or even whether--women's voices are heard and "read", how they are (re)interpreted, and given value in the culture. It is these brave and still necessary, if no longer "fashionable", questions, and Carol Shields' enormous capacity to entertain so wisely and unflinchingly, that make Unless such a joy to read.--Ruth Petrie
Praise for Carol Shields:
‘Her perceptions are so quick, her style is so acute, that she can tack a breath to the page and skewer a thought on the wing. It is her speciality to isolate moments that remain distinct in the mind for years, perhaps for a lifetime.’ Hilary Mantel, Sunday Times
‘Few writers could make a book about what it means to be alone this charming.’ Observer
‘A wonderful, powerful book, written in a style which combines simplicity and elegance. Deeply moving.’ Joanne Harris
‘Shields writes like an angel, awesome in the intelligence of her observations and never less than elegant in expressing them.’ David Robson, Sunday Telegraph
‘It takes the vessel of fiction in its hands and hurls it to the floor...a masterpiece.’ Rachel Cusk, New Statesman
‘As poised and wise a novel as any you will read this year.’ Tim Adams, Observer
‘Our most intelligent and beguiling observer...”Unless” is her most raw and intentful novel yet.’ Penny Perrick, Sunday Times
‘Her wisdom and generosity of spirit are visible at every turn.’ Sunday Times
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. Dazzling novel from Carol Shields, author of The Stone Diaries, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and Larrys Party, winner of the Orange Prize. Breathtakinga masterpiece. Geoffrey Wansell, Daily MailReta Winters has a loving family, good friends, and growing success as a writer of light fiction. Then her eldest daughter suddenly withdraws from the world, abandoning university to sit on a street corner, wearing a sign that reads only Goodness. As Reta seeks the causes of her daughters retreat, her enquiry turns into an unflinching, often very funny meditation on society and where we find meaning and hope. Unless is a dazzling and daring novel from the undisputed master of extraordinary fictions about so-called ordinary lives. Dazzling novel from Carol Shields, author of The Stone Diaries, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and Larrys Party, winner of the Orange Prize. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780007137695
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Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Dazzling novel from Carol Shields, author of `The Stone Diaries', winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and `Larry's Party', winner of the Orange Prize. Seller Inventory # B9780007137695
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Book Description Condition: New. Dazzling novel from Carol Shields, author of 'The Stone Diaries', winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and 'Larry's Party', winner of the Orange Prize. Num Pages: 336 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 199 x 127 x 22. Weight in Grams: 254. . 2003. New edition. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9780007137695