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Three Uneasy Pieces
In this book the author addresses the problem of growing old and the "warts of the soul" which, if gouged out, ruin the flesh. We must wait, he says, for the evil in us to die naturally. Presenting a peeled potato, a dance in the kitchen and a visit to the aged mother of a childhood friend, he considers our struggle, our efforts to achieve aesthetic perfection and suggests some resolutions. Patrick White is a Nobel Prize-winning author. His novels include "The Tree of Man", "Voss", "The Vivisector", "A Fringe of Leaves", "The Twyborn Affair" and "Memoirs of Many in One".
59 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
50 people want to read
About the author
Patrick White
83 books373 followers There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads. For the Canadian Poet Laureate see "Patrick^^^^^White".
Patrick Victor Martindale White was an Australian author widely regarded as one of the major English-language novelists of the 20th century, and winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Born in England while his Australian parents were visiting family, White grew up in Sydney before studying at Cambridge. Publishing his first two novels to critical acclaim in the UK, White then enlisted to serve in World War II, where he met his lifelong partner, the Greek Manoly Lascaris. The pair returned to Australia after the war.
Home again, White published a total of twelve novels, two short story collections, eight plays, as well as a miscellany of non-fiction. His fiction freely employs shifting narrative vantages and the stream of consciousness technique. In 1973, he was awarded the Nobel Prize "for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature."
From 1947 to 1964, White and Lascaris lived a retired life on the outer fringes of Sydney. However after their subsequent move to the inner suburb of Centennial Park, White experienced an increased passion for activism. He became known as an outspoken champion for the disadvantaged, for Indigenous rights, and for the teaching and promotion of art, in a culture he deemed often backward and conservative. In their personal life, White and Lascaris' home became a regular haunt for noted figures from all levels of society.
Although he achieved a great deal of critical applause, and was hailed as a national hero after his Nobel win, White retained a challenged relationship with the Australian public and ordinary readers. In his final decades the books sold well in paperback, but he retained a reputation as difficult, dense, and sometimes inscrutable.
Following White's death in 1990, his reputation was briefly buoyed by David Marr's well-received biography, although he disappeared off most university and school syllabuses, with his novels mostly out of print, by the end of the century. Interest in White's books was revived around 2012, the year of his centenary, with all now available again.
Sources: Wikipedia, David Marr's biography, The Patrick White Catalogue
Patrick Victor Martindale White was an Australian author widely regarded as one of the major English-language novelists of the 20th century, and winner of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Born in England while his Australian parents were visiting family, White grew up in Sydney before studying at Cambridge. Publishing his first two novels to critical acclaim in the UK, White then enlisted to serve in World War II, where he met his lifelong partner, the Greek Manoly Lascaris. The pair returned to Australia after the war.
Home again, White published a total of twelve novels, two short story collections, eight plays, as well as a miscellany of non-fiction. His fiction freely employs shifting narrative vantages and the stream of consciousness technique. In 1973, he was awarded the Nobel Prize "for an epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature."
From 1947 to 1964, White and Lascaris lived a retired life on the outer fringes of Sydney. However after their subsequent move to the inner suburb of Centennial Park, White experienced an increased passion for activism. He became known as an outspoken champion for the disadvantaged, for Indigenous rights, and for the teaching and promotion of art, in a culture he deemed often backward and conservative. In their personal life, White and Lascaris' home became a regular haunt for noted figures from all levels of society.
Although he achieved a great deal of critical applause, and was hailed as a national hero after his Nobel win, White retained a challenged relationship with the Australian public and ordinary readers. In his final decades the books sold well in paperback, but he retained a reputation as difficult, dense, and sometimes inscrutable.
Following White's death in 1990, his reputation was briefly buoyed by David Marr's well-received biography, although he disappeared off most university and school syllabuses, with his novels mostly out of print, by the end of the century. Interest in White's books was revived around 2012, the year of his centenary, with all now available again.
Sources: Wikipedia, David Marr's biography, The Patrick White Catalogue
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 1, 2024
This volume is under 60 pages, the bulk of which is the third story, about the life of a wart. It an an excellent story, concerning desire that is always just out of reach, and cures which are magical in aspiration.
I'm giving this 5 stars just because Patrick White is Patrick White. Who am I to judge Patrick White?
I'm giving this 5 stars just because Patrick White is Patrick White. Who am I to judge Patrick White?
September 12, 2018
In particular the last story is moving.
May 19, 2016
They say uneasy, they mean uneasy. I loved it though?
September 2, 2023
Short and sweet - the first 2 stories mostly went over my head but it was clearly well written.
Certainly had few moments that packed a punch.
Thoroughly enjoyed this little moment of reading!
Certainly had few moments that packed a punch.
Thoroughly enjoyed this little moment of reading!
March 19, 2024
Three Uneasy Pieces is a perfect title for this book, a collection of three stories. The first two stories aren't memorable; they're only a single page long, and the third is about a wart. Specifically, how a boy is embarrassed by his wart yet eventually grows fond of it and begins to miss it once it's gone. It's a unique metaphor.
I haven't got any takeaways from this book since it hardly left an impression on me.
I haven't got any takeaways from this book since it hardly left an impression on me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews