shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Book News, Guests | December 14, 2009

Amy Gray: IMG How to Be a Vampire



Oh, hi. I'm Amy Gray. I like smoking, carbs, and words. I live in the (currently) sleek humidity of Melbourne, Australia. When not lying... Continue »
  1. $10.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

Disquiet (Penguin Original)

by Julia Leigh

Disquiet (Penguin Original) Cover

ISBN13: 9780143113508
ISBN10: 014311350x
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $7.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Review:

"Leigh follows her internationally acclaimed The Hunter with a haunting family drama tightly packed into a tense novella. Olivia, referred to primarily (and somewhat affectedly) as 'the woman,' has fled her abusive husband with her two sharp-tongued young children. She seeks refuge at her mother's chateau in France, which she left on bad terms to get married 12 years earlier. Soon after Olivia's unexpected arrival, her brother shows up with his wife, Sophie, and the body of their stillborn child. Although the plot feels a bit slight, there is great emotional weight and disturbing imagery, as Sophie wanders aimlessly, still wearing her hospital ID bracelet and carrying her lifeless daughter in her arms as if the baby were a doll. The chateau is an ideal gothic setting for the morbid events that occur over the course of several days; indeed, there is only one scene that takes place off the chateau's grounds, infusing the novel with an unsettling atmosphere of claustrophobia. Death and impending death reign, but Leigh also paints a subtle portrait of a broken family trying to piece itself back together." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Olivia arrives at her motheras chateau in rural France (the first time in more than a decade) with her two young children in tow. Soon the family is joined by Oliviaas brother Marcus and his wife Sophieabut this reunion is far from joyful. After years of desperately wanting a baby, Sophie has just given birth to a stillborn child, and she is struggling to overcome her devastation. Meanwhile, Olivia wrestles with her own secrets about the cruel and violent man she married many years before. Exquisitely written and reminiscent of Ian McEwan and J. M. Coetzee, "Disquiet" is a darkly beautiful and atmospheric story that will linger in the mind long after the final page is turned.

Synopsis:

Olivia arrives at her mother's chateau in rural France--the first time in more than a decade--with her two young children in tow. Soon the family is joined by Olivia's brother Marcus and his wife Sophie--but this reunion is far from joyful, in this exquisitely written, atmospheric story.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
mgdallas, May 5, 2009 (view all comments by mgdallas)
Mercilessly short, when there are so many 600-700 page novels out there. The size of the manuscript does not cheat the reader of any essential details. The story reflects the emotional disconnection within some families, and the consequences that can result.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780143113508
Author:
Leigh, Julia
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Children
Subject:
Death
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
France
Series:
Penguin Original
Publication Date:
November 2008
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
120
Dimensions:
7.12x5.02x.36 in. .29 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $8.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  2. $9.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Book of Dahlia

    Elisa Albert
  3. $8.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  4. $15.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Ms. Hempel Chronicles

    Sarah Shun Li Bynum
  5. $30.00 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    2666 (3-Volume Boxed Set)

    Roberto Bolano
  6. $8.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

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.