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Thin-Ice Skater
A seventeen-year-old is sent to the country to live with his much-older half-brother and falls into an unexpected affair in this novel by Man Booker Prize–winning author David Storey
The narrator of Storey’s eleventh novel is an angst-ridden seventeen-year-old who shares intimate details of his life in the form of memos written to himself. Born in Beverly Hills, California, Richard “Rick” Audlin now lives with his film producer half-brother, Gerry—who is thirty-five years his senior—in a rambling old Victorian house in Hampstead. Gerry’s second wife, Martha, is a former film star who has been committed to a mental institution. When Gerry has to go abroad on business, he trundles Rick off to the home of his long-estranged sibling, James (Rick’s other half-brother), who lives on the outskirts of a remote village and is the author of seven unpublished crime novels. It is James’s wife, Clare, who meets Rick at the station. Flirty and attractive, she soon draws Rick into an illicit liaison. But Rick senses that something else is going on—something that will eventually lead him to a shattering secret in his family . . . and the thin ice they’re all skating on.
The narrator of Storey’s eleventh novel is an angst-ridden seventeen-year-old who shares intimate details of his life in the form of memos written to himself. Born in Beverly Hills, California, Richard “Rick” Audlin now lives with his film producer half-brother, Gerry—who is thirty-five years his senior—in a rambling old Victorian house in Hampstead. Gerry’s second wife, Martha, is a former film star who has been committed to a mental institution. When Gerry has to go abroad on business, he trundles Rick off to the home of his long-estranged sibling, James (Rick’s other half-brother), who lives on the outskirts of a remote village and is the author of seven unpublished crime novels. It is James’s wife, Clare, who meets Rick at the station. Flirty and attractive, she soon draws Rick into an illicit liaison. But Rick senses that something else is going on—something that will eventually lead him to a shattering secret in his family . . . and the thin ice they’re all skating on.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2004
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
David Storey
84 books29 followersDavid Storey was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a former professional rugby league player. Storey was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1933, and studied at the Slade School of Art.
His first two novels were both published in 1960, a few months apart: This Sporting Life, which won the Macmillan Fiction Award and was adapted for an award-winning 1963 film, and Flight Into Camden, which won the Somerset Maugham Award. His next novel, Radcliffe (1963) met with widespread critical acclaim in both England and the United States, and during the 1960s and 70s, Storey became widely known for his plays, several of which achieved great success.
He returned to fiction in 1972 with Pasmore, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Saville (1976) won the Booker Prize and has been hailed by at least one critic as the best of all the Booker winners. His last novel was Thin-Ice Skater (2004).
David Storey lived in London. He was married and had four children.
His first two novels were both published in 1960, a few months apart: This Sporting Life, which won the Macmillan Fiction Award and was adapted for an award-winning 1963 film, and Flight Into Camden, which won the Somerset Maugham Award. His next novel, Radcliffe (1963) met with widespread critical acclaim in both England and the United States, and during the 1960s and 70s, Storey became widely known for his plays, several of which achieved great success.
He returned to fiction in 1972 with Pasmore, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Saville (1976) won the Booker Prize and has been hailed by at least one critic as the best of all the Booker winners. His last novel was Thin-Ice Skater (2004).
David Storey lived in London. He was married and had four children.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 24, 2017
This is a weird book. It's rather bleak.
I liked the unusual formatting. The dialogue is short (sparse), and is interspersed with a lot of reflection of what goes unsaid. The ending was surprising, although I can't say it was unexpected. I liked the repeated metaphor of skating on thin ice.
That being said, I was really not into
I liked the unusual formatting. The dialogue is short (sparse), and is interspersed with a lot of reflection of what goes unsaid. The ending was surprising, although I can't say it was unexpected. I liked the repeated metaphor of skating on thin ice.
That being said, I was really not into
Displaying 1 of 1 review