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as it happened
The Booker prize-winning novelist returns with his finest novel to date -- a profound meditation on the nature of death and what we live for.
Involuntary self-murder is a symptom of what Matthew Maddox, emeritus professor of the Drayburgh School of Fine Art, considers to be a cultural as well as a social malaise -- his summing-up of the century he has lived through. His children gone, his wife re-married, his attempt at suicide having failed, he is drawn remorselessly through a process of rehabilitation, a search for “purpose”. Even a man divided from himself is not alone. Struggling for his future are Simone, his lover and former analyst; his revered mentor, Daniel Viklund; his brother Paul and reliable sister Sarah. But against him stands his past; and above all, Eric Taylor, once his brightest student and now a convicted murderer.
Involuntary self-murder is a symptom of what Matthew Maddox, emeritus professor of the Drayburgh School of Fine Art, considers to be a cultural as well as a social malaise -- his summing-up of the century he has lived through. His children gone, his wife re-married, his attempt at suicide having failed, he is drawn remorselessly through a process of rehabilitation, a search for “purpose”. Even a man divided from himself is not alone. Struggling for his future are Simone, his lover and former analyst; his revered mentor, Daniel Viklund; his brother Paul and reliable sister Sarah. But against him stands his past; and above all, Eric Taylor, once his brightest student and now a convicted murderer.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
David Storey
85 books30 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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September 4, 2009
I am content to read sometimes as little as one paragraph a day. I had not known Storey as a novelist. He is a genius and his writing is exquisite. I may add that although densely packed introversion of a failed suicide's physical, emotional and spiritual decay it is also very, very amusing in the pure sense of that word. A gem.
Displaying 1 of 1 review