Black Boxes

Fiction & Literature, Family Life
Cover of the book Black Boxes by Caroline Smailes, HarperCollins Publishers
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Caroline Smailes ISBN: 9780007303243
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Publication: October 29, 2009
Imprint: The Friday Project Language: English
Author: Caroline Smailes
ISBN: 9780007303243
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication: October 29, 2009
Imprint: The Friday Project
Language: English

Julie Myerson meets Ian McEwan in this gripping novel of family breakdown. Ana Lewis is trapped by her own expectations. Her intense relationship with fellow student Alex begins to crack beyond repair when she falls pregnant, and his subsequent withdrawal, emotionally and sexually are hard for Ana to bear. Eventually, following the birth of Pip and then Davie, Alex leaves Ana to a life of question and blame. Locked in her room for much of the time she woefully neglects her children, preferring instead to replay scenes from her life over and over, fighting the urge to blink for fear it should dissipate the memories. Told within the context of two black boxes, one Ana’s and one Pip’s, the story reveals the key factors that have contributed to this catastrophic breakdown of life. In Black Box 01 we meet Ana as she begins to deconstruct her life. She rails against Alex and his inability to love her, or to put her ahead of his domineering mother. Black Box 02 is Pip’s diary which details in a schoolgirl terms the neglect that both Pip and Davie have suffered. Pip talks of her mother’s deterioration, lack of cleanliness and of her mother’s obsessions. Pip and Davie communicate through finger sign language, as their mother demands silence. Davie retreats into his own world, permanently soiled and communicating only by sign, while Pip, fat and desperate, sneaks out of the house at night to have sex with a boy who hates her. Pip and Davie exist in parallel, with only Ana's bedroom door separating her from them. She does not want to see them. They are the present and Ana chooses to live in a past, continually raking over the ashes of a relationship that was never really hers. Accomplished and affecting, Caroline Smailes weaves together a catastrophic tale of mismatched lives.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Julie Myerson meets Ian McEwan in this gripping novel of family breakdown. Ana Lewis is trapped by her own expectations. Her intense relationship with fellow student Alex begins to crack beyond repair when she falls pregnant, and his subsequent withdrawal, emotionally and sexually are hard for Ana to bear. Eventually, following the birth of Pip and then Davie, Alex leaves Ana to a life of question and blame. Locked in her room for much of the time she woefully neglects her children, preferring instead to replay scenes from her life over and over, fighting the urge to blink for fear it should dissipate the memories. Told within the context of two black boxes, one Ana’s and one Pip’s, the story reveals the key factors that have contributed to this catastrophic breakdown of life. In Black Box 01 we meet Ana as she begins to deconstruct her life. She rails against Alex and his inability to love her, or to put her ahead of his domineering mother. Black Box 02 is Pip’s diary which details in a schoolgirl terms the neglect that both Pip and Davie have suffered. Pip talks of her mother’s deterioration, lack of cleanliness and of her mother’s obsessions. Pip and Davie communicate through finger sign language, as their mother demands silence. Davie retreats into his own world, permanently soiled and communicating only by sign, while Pip, fat and desperate, sneaks out of the house at night to have sex with a boy who hates her. Pip and Davie exist in parallel, with only Ana's bedroom door separating her from them. She does not want to see them. They are the present and Ana chooses to live in a past, continually raking over the ashes of a relationship that was never really hers. Accomplished and affecting, Caroline Smailes weaves together a catastrophic tale of mismatched lives.

More books from HarperCollins Publishers

Cover of the book Broken Silence by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book The Mistletoe Seller by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book THE PROMISE OF HAPPINESS by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Career Management (Collins Business Secrets) by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Confessions of a GP (The Confessions Series) by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Who Will Cry When You Die? by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Research: B2+ (Collins Academic Skills) by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book The Artist’s Muse by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Swipe Left by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book The Things We Need to Say by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Confessions of a Police Constable (The Confessions Series) by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Understanding Dreams: What they are and how to interpret them by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Mrinal Sen-60 Years In Search Of Cinema by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book Cooking Without Made Easy: All recipes free from added gluten, sugar, yeast and dairy produce by Caroline Smailes
Cover of the book 50 Writers, 50 Books by Caroline Smailes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy