The Facts of Life: A Novel - Softcover

Joyce, Graham

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743463439 ISBN 13: 9780743463430

Publisher: Pocket, 2004

Synopsis

Winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award Graham Joyce chronicles a haunting,war-torn terrain in this heartrending novel of one family's quest to begin again -- without forgetting the lives they left behind. The Facts of Life Set in Coventry, England, during and immediately after World War II, The Facts of Life revolves around the early years of Frank Arthur Vine, the illegitimate son of young, free-spirited Cassie and an American GI. Because Cassie is too unreliable and unstable to act as his proper guardian -- and is prone to "blue" periods in which she wanders off without warning or recollection -- Frank is brought up in the care of his strong-willed, stout-drinking grandmother, Martha Vine, who has, among other homemaking talents, the untoward ability to communicate with the dead. So begins the first decade of Frank's life, one in which ghosts have a place at the table and divine order dictates the outcome of his days. Along the way there are brief stays with each of his six eccentric aunts, visits to the local mortuary, and voices inside of his own head that suggest that he, too, has the gift of supernatural intuition. An affecting tale of family and history, war and peace, love and madness, The Facts of Life will leave readers spellbound with its resounding expression of magic realism.

About this title

Review:

Graham and I have worked hard to promote this book within the area that it is set and the area he lives. A launch party was held in the Coventry Tourist Information Centre. It attracted a lot of local media (press and radio). Thisparty secured interviews for Graham on BBC Radio Leicester along with interviews in all the local papers (Coventry Evening Telegraph etc). All the local papers have promised a review of the book. Two Meet the Author evenings were organised in Borders Leicester and Waterstones Coventry. These consisted of ajazz band, a little free booze and the opportunity to talk to Graham about his books. Both were very successful and both bookshops sold out of books as well as receiving orders for more. Reviews so far have appeared in SFX.More are due in Starburst, The Alien on Line, Infinity Plus, Time Out and Locus.The G

Book Description:

An extraordinary evocation of an extraordinary family in WWII England by the four time British Fantasy Award-winning author.

About this edition

• Publisher: Pocket
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0743463439
• ISBN 13: 9780743463430
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 324