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A Curious Earth

by Gerard Woodward

A Curious Earth Cover

Review-a-Day   (What is Review-a-Day?)

"If there is any trip sublimely worth the taking in contemporary fiction, it is Gerard Woodward's three novel sequence — August, I'll Go to Bed at Noon, A Curious Earth — concerning the catastrophes, the outrages, the angelic goofiness and visionary transfigurations of Aldous and Colette Jones and family....Having just completed my first reading of A Curious Earth, I can, with the deepest conviction, avow what Blake avowed in his letter to Thomas Butts, 22nd November 1802: 'My enthusiasm is still what it was, only enlarged and confirmed.'" Donald Revell, Rain Taxi (read the entire Rain Taxi review)

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

In this successor to his Man Booker Prize finalist, Gerard Woodward slyly pits defiant Aldous Jones against the hazards of aging.

Left with an empty house after the death of his wife, Aldous Jones is tempted to spend the whole day sitting in his chair in the kitchen. But with admirable determination he resumes old pastimes until, one day, wandering London, he is surprised to find a painting that holds him completely in its spell. Rembrandt's portrait of his housekeeper-turned-mistress, Hendrijcke Stoffels, awakens Jones's desire for a new life, a new woman, sex, and companionship. It leads him to Belgium to stay with his bohemian son, to evening language classes, and through a series of slightly misguided relationships until eventually he meets his Hendrijcke. As The Guardian writes, this work is "brave, funny, and beautifully written, as perceptive about Rembrandt and Shakespeare as it is about evening classes, potato tubers sprouting in neglected cupboards and the accumulated detritus of family life."

Review:

"Rich in humor and pathos, this comedy of modern urban life with its richly defined main character will have wide appeal among readers of literary fiction." Library Journal

Synopsis:

In this successor to his Man Booker Prize finalist, Gerard Woodward slyly pits defiant Aldous Jones against the hazards of aging.

Synopsis:

Left with an empty house after the death of his wife, Aldous Jones is tempted to spend the whole day sitting in his chair in the kitchen. But with admirable determination he resumes old pastimes until, one day, wandering London, he is surprised to find a painting that holds him completely in its spell. Rembrandt's portrait of his housekeeper-turned-mistress, Hendrijcke Stoffels, awakens Jones's desire for a new life, a new woman, sex, and companionship. It leads him to Belgium to stay with his bohemian son, to evening language classes, and through a series of slightly misguided relationships until eventually he meets his Hendrijcke. As The Guardianwrites, this work is "brave, funny, and beautifully written, as perceptive about Rembrandt and Shakespeare as it is about evening classes, potato tubers sprouting in neglected cupboards and the accumulated detritus of family life."

About the Author

Gerard Woodwardis the author of the Booker Prize finalist I"ll Go to Bed at Noonand A Curious Earth. He lives in Bath, England.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780393330977
Author:
Woodward, Gerard
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Subject:
General
Subject:
Man-woman relationships
Subject:
Psychology
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Older men - Psychology
Edition Description:
American
Publication Date:
March 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
290
Dimensions:
8 x 6 in

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