Desperate Characters: A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Literary
Cover of the book Desperate Characters: A Novel by Paula Fox, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Paula Fox ISBN: 9780393342123
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: May 17, 1999
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Paula Fox
ISBN: 9780393342123
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: May 17, 1999
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

"A towering landmark of postwar Realism. . . . A sustained work of prose so lucid and fine it seems less written than carved." — David Foster Wallace

Otto and Sophie Bentwood live childless in a renovated Brooklyn brownstone. The complete works of Goethe line their bookshelf, their stainless-steel kitchen is newly installed, and their Mercedes is parked curbside. But after Sophie is bitten on the hand while trying to feed a half-starved neighborhood cat, a series of small and ominous disasters begin to plague their lives. The fault lines of their marriage are revealed — echoing the fractures of society around them, slowly wrenching itself apart. First published in 1970 to wide acclaim, Desperate Characters stands as one of the most dazzling and rigorous examples of the storyteller's craft in postwar American literature — a novel that, according to Irving Howe, ranks with "Billy Budd, The Great Gatsby, Miss Lonelyhearts, and Seize the Day."

"Desperate Characters is, simply, a perfect short novel. A few characters, a small stretch of time; setting and action tightly confined — and yet, as in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, everything crucial within our souls bared." — Andrea Barrett "This perfect novel about pain is as clear, and as wholly believable, and as healing, as a fever dream." — Frederick Busch "Brilliant. . . . [Fox] is one of the most attractive writers to come our way in a long, long time." — The New Yorker Introduced by Jonathan Franzen, one of Granta's Twenty Best Young American Novelists

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

"A towering landmark of postwar Realism. . . . A sustained work of prose so lucid and fine it seems less written than carved." — David Foster Wallace

Otto and Sophie Bentwood live childless in a renovated Brooklyn brownstone. The complete works of Goethe line their bookshelf, their stainless-steel kitchen is newly installed, and their Mercedes is parked curbside. But after Sophie is bitten on the hand while trying to feed a half-starved neighborhood cat, a series of small and ominous disasters begin to plague their lives. The fault lines of their marriage are revealed — echoing the fractures of society around them, slowly wrenching itself apart. First published in 1970 to wide acclaim, Desperate Characters stands as one of the most dazzling and rigorous examples of the storyteller's craft in postwar American literature — a novel that, according to Irving Howe, ranks with "Billy Budd, The Great Gatsby, Miss Lonelyhearts, and Seize the Day."

"Desperate Characters is, simply, a perfect short novel. A few characters, a small stretch of time; setting and action tightly confined — and yet, as in Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, everything crucial within our souls bared." — Andrea Barrett "This perfect novel about pain is as clear, and as wholly believable, and as healing, as a fever dream." — Frederick Busch "Brilliant. . . . [Fox] is one of the most attractive writers to come our way in a long, long time." — The New Yorker Introduced by Jonathan Franzen, one of Granta's Twenty Best Young American Novelists

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Death Is Not an Option: Stories by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity by Paula Fox
Cover of the book The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution by Paula Fox
Cover of the book The Bank of Fear: A Novel by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Porno by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Country of Origin: A Novel by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Putting Our House in Order: A Guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Understanding Green Building Materials by Paula Fox
Cover of the book The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Anxious and What You Can Do to Change It (Second) by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From, and Why by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Coaching Plain & Simple: Solution-focused Brief Coaching Essentials by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Storming Heaven: A Novel by Paula Fox
Cover of the book Night of Sorrows: A Novel by Paula Fox
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