2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS


Recently Viewed clear list


Interviews | January 24, 2012

Jill Owens: IMG Ben Marcus: The Powells.com Interview



Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
  1. $18.17 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Flame Alphabet

    Ben Marcus 9780307379375

spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$5.95
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Burnside Literature- A to Z

More copies of this ISBN

eBook editions

Making It Up

by Penelope Lively

Making It Up Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Authors of fiction are often asked,“How much of what you write comes from your own life” This is especially the case for Penelope Lively, whose celebrated works such as The Photograph and the Booker Prize-winning Moon Tiger ring so true that they seem to tread that fine line between fact and fiction.

Making It Up is Livel‛s engrossing and deftly constructed response. What if her famil‛s escape from Egypt during World War II had a different outcome? What would her life have been like if sh‛d become pregnant at eighteen? Or if she had married someone else?

As Lively weaves through very plausible hesitations, choices, and definitive moments of a life, she also offers a meditation on the nature of fate, destiny, and choice. An examination of those junctures when a split-second decision can change everything, Making It Up is a striking testament to Livel‛s distinctive gifts and a rare opportunity to glimpse how real life can inspire great fiction.

Review:

"In this engrossing, perverse challenge to genre — 'an anti-memoir' — Booker Award novelist Lively (Moon Tiger, 1987) explores the road not taken. What if her family, evacuating Egypt during WWII, had traveled to South Africa rather than Palestine? What if a date that ended chastely had led to unwed motherhood? What if her husband-to-be had been captured in Korea? What if that other Penelope had taken up with Achilles? What if Lively, who eventually became a writer, had, as a student, gone on an archeological dig? 'This book is fiction,' Lively warns. The narratives are inventions, rendered by an omniscient voice, framed by brief, evocative autobiographical passages, and peopled by non-Penelopes. Lively achieves 'the authenticity of fiction' in their credibility, but she lived none of these alternative lives. Writers and would-be writers will be intrigued to observe the transformation of life into literature. Readers may enjoy wrestling with questions of choice and chance in human affairs, or they may settle for a series of neatly crafted tales. The vividly imagined lives stir up questions far more thought provoking than the simple 'what if?' As Lively so elegantly demonstrates, 'The paths do not so much fork as flourish.' Agent, Emma Sweeny. (On sale Oct. 24)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

New from the award-winning author of "Moon Tiger" comes a masterly crafted exploration of the myriad answers to the question, "What if . . ."

About the Author

Penelope Lively is the author of numerous award-winning novels, including the Booker Prize-winning Moon Tiger. Her writing has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times.

She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a member of PEN, and a former chairman of the Society of Authors. She was awarded the CBE in 2002.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780670034475
Author:
Lively, Penelope
Publisher:
Viking Adult
Subject:
General
Subject:
World war, 1939-1945
Subject:
Girls
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
Literary
Edition Description:
B-Hardcover
Publication Date:
20051020
Binding:
Hardback
Grade Level:
from 12
Language:
English
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
9.78x6.36x.86 in. .85 lbs.
Age Level:
from 18

Other books you might like

  1. $11.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    Truth and Consequences

    Alison Lurie 9781440627347
  2. $3.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Thirteen Steps Down

    Ruth Rendell 9781400098422
  3. $2.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Moral Hazard

    Kate Jennings 9780007154623
  4. $8.88 Google eBooks add to wish list

    The Road to Lichfield

    Penelope Lively 9780802197368
  5. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Highwire Moon

    Susan Straight 9780385722612
  6. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Suite Francaise: A Novel

    Irene Nemirovsky 9781400096275

Related Aisles

Making It Up Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$5.95 In Stock
Product details 224 pages Viking Books - English 9780670034475 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "In this engrossing, perverse challenge to genre — 'an anti-memoir' — Booker Award novelist Lively (Moon Tiger, 1987) explores the road not taken. What if her family, evacuating Egypt during WWII, had traveled to South Africa rather than Palestine? What if a date that ended chastely had led to unwed motherhood? What if her husband-to-be had been captured in Korea? What if that other Penelope had taken up with Achilles? What if Lively, who eventually became a writer, had, as a student, gone on an archeological dig? 'This book is fiction,' Lively warns. The narratives are inventions, rendered by an omniscient voice, framed by brief, evocative autobiographical passages, and peopled by non-Penelopes. Lively achieves 'the authenticity of fiction' in their credibility, but she lived none of these alternative lives. Writers and would-be writers will be intrigued to observe the transformation of life into literature. Readers may enjoy wrestling with questions of choice and chance in human affairs, or they may settle for a series of neatly crafted tales. The vividly imagined lives stir up questions far more thought provoking than the simple 'what if?' As Lively so elegantly demonstrates, 'The paths do not so much fork as flourish.' Agent, Emma Sweeny. (On sale Oct. 24)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , New from the award-winning author of "Moon Tiger" comes a masterly crafted exploration of the myriad answers to the question, "What if . . ."
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.