Items related to Negative Space

Strachan, Zoe Negative Space ISBN 13: 9780330485784

Negative Space - Softcover

3.67 avg rating
( 92 ratings by Goodreads )
 
9780330485784: Negative Space
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Dying at twenty four is unnatural. But that's what Simon did, leaving his sister in shock, alone and haunted by the past. In the harsh but strangely comforting anonymity of Glasgow, she moves dazedly from artists' studios to smoky pubs, clutching at comfort wherever she can find it, in drink or sex. Her already fractured world seems now to have been torn apart, as she struggles with the question of whether secrets are better exposed or buried. But an unexpected trip to Orkney at last offers a change in her tense and frightening world. NEGATIVE SPACE is a harshly honest yet beautiful novel, and one of the most powerful debuts of recent times. 'Strachan has a perfect eye for the small detail of suffering . . . The intimate, first-person voice drifts between past and present tense with astonishing effectiveness . . . This is a complex, mature novel with thought-provoking, well-crafted themes' Independent on Sunday

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
"Making a crematorium too hot. That's what I call insensitive." the narrator of Zoe Strachan's debut Negative Space is full of such sardonic asides, even as she reels with the shock of her younger brother Simon's death, and struggles to cope with his absence. She's a strong woman, whose bluff, tough-talking exterior leads her friends to underestimate the pain she is feeling inside. Unable, and unwilling to find comfort with her family, she returns to a life of anonymity in Glasgow, where depression and a string of empty, alcohol-fuelled encounters convince her finally that her life must change. But this proves impossible in a city whose every windswept corner hides a memory. Then, on a trip to the remote Orkney Islands--part pilgrimage, part escape--the healing process begins, in a way no-one could have predicted. The seemingly pointless death of a talented young man is ultimately rendered meaningful, as his sister discovers a way to continue living.

Negative Space is a powerful, sometimes painful tale, and Strachan's attention to the minutiae of the grieving process is exhaustive. Its chief achievement--and this is no mean feat--is to create a central relationship possessing all the luminous intensity of the best love stories. But this is no romance, nor is there anything predictable about its outcome. Strachan's mission--to write about a love blurred by blood-ties and interrupted by sudden death--demonstrates a courage and an honesty rare in first novels.--Matthew Baylis

Review:
'A perfect eye for the small detail . . . the first person voice drifts between past and present with astonishing effectiveness. Intimate and real.' -- Independent on Sunday

'A powerful portrait of grief' -- Scotsman

'A sparkling, fantastical tale' -- Eve

'Strachan understands and conveys raw emotion . . . many readers will connect with this sotry' -- Diva

'The author has a wonderful ear for dialogue and the Glasgow parts pin the city exactly' -- Glasgow Herald

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherPicador
  • Publication date2003
  • ISBN 10 0330485784
  • ISBN 13 9780330485784
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages304
  • Rating
    3.67 avg rating
    ( 92 ratings by Goodreads )

Shipping: £ 18.71
From Australia to U.S.A.

Destination, rates & speeds

Add to Basket

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780330485791: Negative Space

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780330485791
Publisher: Picador, 2002
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Strachan, Zoe
Published by Picador, London (2003)
ISBN 10: 0330485784 ISBN 13: 9780330485784
New Soft cover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BOOK COLLECTORS GALLERY
(SUMMER HILL, NSW, Australia)

Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Very Good ++. No Jacket. Remainder stripe to bottom edge. Seller Inventory # 009865

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 8.06
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: £ 18.71
From Australia to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds