Afterwards - Hardcover

Seiffert, Rache

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 043401186X ISBN 13: 9780434011865

Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

To love someone, need you know everything about them? When Alice and Joseph meet, they fall quickly into a tentative but serious relationship. She is a nurse, he a painter and decorator; both are still young and hopeful of each other, but each brings with them an emotional burden. Alice's father has been a yawning absence all her life, and her beloved grandmother - who helped raise her - has recently died. For his part, Joseph refuses to speak about his army experiences in Northern Ireland and Alice suspects that his general reticence hides an even more deeply troubled past. When her widowed grandfather begins to tell Joseph about his own RAF experiences in l950s Kenya - stories he had shared only with his wife - something still raw is tapped in Joseph; his reaction to the older man's unburdening of guilt is both unexpected and devastating for them all. Morally complex, understated, and powerfully moving, "Afterwards" confirms Rachel Seiffert's remarkable talent.

About this title

About the Author

The daughter of an Australian father and a German mother, Rachel Seoffert was born in Oxford and lives in London. She is the author the Booker-shortlisted novel The Dark Room and an acclaimed collection of short stories, Field Study. She was named one of Granta's 'Best of Young British' and one of 25 women writers to watch in the 'Orange Futures'.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Rachel Seiffert:

Field Study

'Spare and subtle, Seiffert's writing is honed to perfection, and this collection of stories demonstrates the skills that gained her recognition as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in 2003.' Sunday Times

'Seiffert is a writer of great delicacy and toughness... Field Study...is immensely strong and proves in itself the happiest of outcomes - good story begetting good story after good story.' Guardian

'A magnificent collection: striking, moving, and deeply thought-provoking.' Financial Times

The Dark Room

'Seiffert's powerful book resonates with hope, humanity and understanding. It should be on everyone's reading lists.' Sunday Times

'Seiffert shows us a nation stunned and grieving, unable to vocalise its grief... The novel's relativism is one of its greatest strengths... Yet this book is not without a redemptive quality. It shatters prejudices about 'evil', suggesting that it is harder to define and attribute than you might think and perhaps impossible to atone for.' Observer

'A startlingly powerful debut by a young writer who deserves praises and prizes in abundance for a remarkable achievement... so compelling and so sympathetically handled that I felt engaged, page after page... Not to be missed' Daily Mail

From the Inside Flap

To love someone, need you know everything about them?

When Alice and Joseph meet, they fall quickly into a tentative but serious relationship. She is a nurse, he a painter and decorator; both are still young and hopeful of each other, but each brings with them an emotional burden. Alice's father has been a yawning absence all her life, and her beloved grandmother - who helped raise her - has recently died.

For his part, Joseph refuses to speak about his army experiences in Northern Ireland and Alice suspects that his general reticence hides an even more deeply troubled past. When her widowed grandfather begins to tell Joseph about his own RAF experiences in l950s Kenya - stories he had shared only with his wife - something still raw is tapped in Joseph; his reaction to the older man's unburdening of guilt is both unexpected and devastating for them all.

Morally complex, understated, and powerfully moving, Afterwards confirms Rachel Seiffert's remarkable talent.

Edition details

• Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 043401186X
• ISBN 13: 9780434011865
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336