The Sorrows of an American - Softcover

Hustvedt, Siri

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340897090 ISBN 13: 9780340897096

Publisher: Sceptre, 2009

Synopsis

My sister called it 'the year of secrets,' but when I look back on it now, I've come to understand that it was a time not of what was there, but of what wasn't.

'It is a rare writer who can both rouse the mind and grip the heart, and all the while provide the sensuous delights of image and language...a compelling narrative in which the past haunts the present of characters so vividly real they become members of your intimate circle and erupt in your dreams... almost impossible to put down, and even harder not to re-read' Lisa Appignanesi, Independent

'Wonderful' Vik Groskop, Observer

'Subtle and complex' Tom Deveson, Sunday Times

'Beautifully thought through, deeply serious and enormously intelligent' Jane Smiley, Guardian

About this title

Review:

It is a rare writer who can both rouse the mind and grip the heart, and all the while provide the sensuous delights of image and language. In her new novel, as in WHAT I LOVED, Siri Hustvedt does that and more . . . a book that's almost impossible to put down, and even harder not to re-read (Lisa Appignanesi, Independent)

Beautifully thought through, deeply serious and enormously intelligent (Jane Smiley, Guardian)

This passionately conceived, coolly delivered work is almost certainly the best American novel you will read all year . . . not to be missed (Melissa Katsoulis, Sunday Telegraph)

A mystery story that develops into a subtle and complex novel . . . sharp, confident, tolerant and civilised (Tom Deveson, Sunday Times)

This novel is easily described as wonderful . . . THE SORROWS OF AN AMERICAN feels like a very personal story and is all the more intimate for it . . . her skill lies in convincing the reader that we have seen right inside someone's soul (Viv Groskop, Observer)

For all its cerebral riches, this novel is composed with superb artistry, Hustvedt handles the numerous interlocking narratives with immense skill. . . It is proof of Hustvedt's talent that the terrors of this novel feel real (John de Falbe, Literary Review)

This satisfying and emotionally rich follow-up to Ms Hustvedt's acclaimed WHAT I LOVED treads some similar themes: love and loss; the limits of perception; the drama of dreams; and the need to craft coherent stories from the unreliable fragments of memory. As with her previous novel, Ms Hustvedt's cerebral characters are tenderly drawn, wise and realistic . . . a beautifully sincere examination of the grim traps of over-active minds (Economist)

Book Description:

The dazzling new novel by the author of the international bestseller, WHAT I LOVED, about the secrets and ghosts that haunt families from one generation to the next

About this edition

• Publisher: Sceptre
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0340897090
• ISBN 13: 9780340897096
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320