The Life of Objects: Library Edition

Moore, Susanna

ISBN 10: 1455168947 ISBN 13: 9781455168941

Publisher: Blackstone Pub, 2012

Synopsis

Set in Germany on the eve of World War II, this is the story of Beatrice, a young Irish Protestant lace maker who is whisked away from her humdrum life to join the Berlin household of an enchanting, aristocratic couple. But even they are not safe from the terrors of Nazi Germany.

About this title

Review

"A frightening and wholly convincing evocation of life in Germany during the twilight of the Third Reich." --J. M. Coetzee
"I find this book exhilarating--truly exciting, new, everything good--the people, the clothes, the food: every word." --Joan Didion
"This is a deceptively simple novel that manages that uncanny trick of great fiction: turning the familiar (ambitious provincial girl, World War II, glamorous aristocrats) into a thrilling, enchanting story you've never encountered before. Imagine "Downton Abbey "crossed with "In the Garden of Beasts" as fashioned by a literary master at the peak of her powers." --Kurt Andersen, author of "True Believers"
"In "The Life of Objects," Susanna Moore tells the story of a young woman's initiation into the worlds of beauty, suffering, cynicism, and grace. What astounds me about this work is its ability to attend with equal fidelity to the quiet nuances of self-discovery and the deceptions and depravities of World War II. This is a lyrical and courageous book." --Tracy K. Smith, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry
""The Life of Objects" isn't long but it gives the full sweep of the Nazi reign and the Soviet occupation. Its details are so convincing, it reads like a memoir not a novel--a magnificent achievement." --Edmund White
"I hadn't realized that the lives led by people in the camps had a shadow existence outside the fences, that people were constantly faced with the chance to step one way or the other so that the person next to them would be chosen instead, and that forever after they had to bear their choice. Treachery one wants to call it, but it isn't so simple. Some of the details and evocations of the house and the landscape and the habits of the connoisseur and the self are so striking that at times I had the feeling I was reading a memoir, something like Edmund Gosse, where the writer is trying to keep his head among belligerent circumstances, or, on the other hand, f

"Spellbinding. . . . If the Brothers Grimm had tackled the rise and fall of the Third Reich, they might well have produced a tale that reads like "The Life of Objects."" --Maureen Corrigan, NPR, "Fresh Air"
"I find this book exhilarating--truly exciting, new, everything good--the people, the clothes, the food: every word." --Joan Didion, author of "Blue Nights "
"A refined and sensual treat." --"The Washington Post"
"Thrilling, enchanting. . . . Imagine "Downton Abbey" crossed with "In the Garden of Beasts "as fashioned by a literary master at the peak of her powers." --Kurt Andersen, author of "True Believers "

"Wonderful. . . . Exquisite. . . . A miracle of clarity and beauty. It's the kind of book I read and think, this is why I do this. . . . It's because it's possible to write books like this, and because books like this exist in the world." --Emily St. John Mandel, "The Millions
"
"Undeniably powerful. . . . Moore's an extremely assured novelist, and her themes here ring out ... War changes everyone, and nothing is promised to us forever, not even each other." --"Entertainment Weekly "
"Nearly flawless. So much can happen in a sentence, by such slight (to the reader) but rigorous and elegant means. I nearly gasped at some parts. And there is something gravely and humanly funny about others." --Alec Wilkinson, author of "The Ice Balloon
"
"Subtle and acutely written." --"The Boston Globe
"
"A frightening and wholly convincing evocation of life in Germany during the twilight of the Third Reich." --J. M. Coetzee, author of "Summertime
"
"The Metzenburgs' world is just as astounding to Beatrice as it would be to any modern reader stepping out of a time machine. . . . Moore manages to span the entirety of World War II in a way that is impressively thorough and demonstrates that even the most privileged weren't immune to its ravages." --"Daily News"
""The Life of Objects" isn't long but it gives the full sweep of the Nazi reign and the Soviet occupation. Its details are so convincing, it reads like a memoir not a novel--a magnificent achievement." --Edmund White, author of "Jack Holmes and His Friend
"
"A marvelous book, devastating in its simplicity. It's a beautifully controlled examination of a life stripped, like a body in wartime, of inessentials. I love the fact that kindness--though not sentimentality--turns out to be an essential. But for me the heart of the matter is Moore's language: as strong as plainchant, and as beautiful." --Nicola Griffith, author of "The Blue Place" and "Ammonite
"
""The Life of Objects" is absolutely gripping in the precision of its wartime narrative, and chilling in its evocation of a fidelity to the sensuality of this world in the face of the most deeply cynical of the world's capacities. This extraordinary novel speaks to class, emigration and tragedy in our time as devastatingly as Buddenbrooks spoke to Thomas Mann's own young century." --Susan Wheeler, winner of the Witter Bynner Prize for Poetry from the American Academy of Arts & Letters
"An unsparing look at a country's disintegration." --"More"
"In "The Life of Objects," Susanna Moore tells the story of a young woman's initiation into the worlds of beauty, suffering, cynicism, and grace. What astounds me about this work is its ability to attend with equal fidelity to the quiet nuances of self-discovery and the deceptions and depravities of World War II. This is a lyrical and courageous book." --Tracy K. Smith, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry

Spellbinding. . . . If the Brothers Grimm had tackled the rise and fall of the Third Reich, they might well have produced a tale that reads like "The Life of Objects." Maureen Corrigan, NPR, Fresh Air
I find this book exhilarating truly exciting, new, everything good the people, the clothes, the food: every word. Joan Didion, author of "Blue Nights"
A refined and sensual treat. "The Washington Post"
Thrilling, enchanting. . . . Imagine "Downton Abbey" crossed with "In the Garden of Beasts "as fashioned by a literary master at the peak of her powers. Kurt Andersen, author of "True Believers "

Wonderful. . . . Exquisite. . . . A miracle of clarity and beauty. It s the kind of book I read and think, this is why I do this. . . . It s because it s possible to write books like this, and because books like this exist in the world. Emily St. John Mandel, "The Millions
"
Undeniably powerful. . . . Moore s an extremely assured novelist, and her themes here ring out War changes everyone, and nothing is promised to us forever, not even each other. "Entertainment Weekly"
Nearly flawless. So much can happen in a sentence, by such slight (to the reader) but rigorous and elegant means. I nearly gasped at some parts. And there is something gravely and humanly funny about others. Alec Wilkinson, author of "The Ice Balloon
"
Subtle and acutely written. "The Boston Globe
"
A frightening and wholly convincing evocation of life in Germany during the twilight of the Third Reich. J. M. Coetzee, author of "Summertime
"
The Metzenburgs world is just as astounding to Beatrice as it would be to any modern reader stepping out of a time machine. . . . Moore manages to span the entirety of World War II in a way that is impressively thorough and demonstrates that even the most privileged weren t immune to its ravages. "Daily News"
"The Life of Objects" isn t long but it gives the full sweep of the Nazi reign and the Soviet occupation. Its details are so convincing, it reads like a memoir not a novel a magnificent achievement. Edmund White, author of "Jack Holmes and His Friend
"
A marvelous book, devastating in its simplicity. It s a beautifully controlled examination of a life stripped, like a body in wartime, of inessentials. I love the fact that kindness though not sentimentality turns out to be an essential. But for me the heart of the matter is Moore s language: as strong as plainchant, and as beautiful. Nicola Griffith, author of "The Blue Place" and "Ammonite
"
"The Life of Objects" is absolutely gripping in the precision of its wartime narrative, and chilling in its evocation of a fidelity to the sensuality of this world in the face of the most deeply cynical of the world s capacities. This extraordinary novel speaks to class, emigration and tragedy in our time as devastatingly as Buddenbrooks spoke to Thomas Mann s own young century. Susan Wheeler, winner of the Witter Bynner Prize for Poetry from the American Academy of Arts & Letters
An unsparing look at a country s disintegration. "More"
In "The Life of Objects," Susanna Moore tells the story of a young woman s initiation into the worlds of beauty, suffering, cynicism, and grace. What astounds me about this work is its ability to attend with equal fidelity to the quiet nuances of self-discovery and the deceptions and depravities of World War II. This is a lyrical and courageous book. Tracy K. Smith, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry"

About the Author

Susanna Moore is the author of the novels "The Big Girls, One Last Look, In the Cut, Sleeping Beauties, The Whiteness of Bones, " and "My Old Sweetheart, " and two books of nonfiction, "Light Years: A Girlhood in Hawai i" and "I Myself Have Seen It: The Myth of Hawai i."She lives in New York City.
www.susannamoore.com"

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Pub
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1455168947
• ISBN 13: 9781455168941
• Binding: Preloaded Digital Audio Player