Heart of Stone (Uk Edition)

A Heart of Stone is the first novel by best-selling Dutch author, Renate Do rrestein, to appear in English (admirably translated by Hester Velmans). It 's an extraordinary, and compelling, story of family and violence, childhoo d and madness--a story whose deft changes of perspective support the suspen se that runs right through to the novel's conclusion. From the narrator, El len, the third of five children, we know that something has gone terribly w rong for the Van Bemmel family. What, why, and how is only gradually discov ered through Dorrestein's powerful exploration of a family apparently doome d to destruction. In her late thirties, Ellen's own pregnancy is the cataly st for her journey of remembrance, her recovery of her parents' wish to giv e their children "a blessedly happy and carefree childhood" and the pervers ity that can accompany a mother's faith in the fact that she knows what is best for her children. A story of memory, mourning and rebirth, A Heart of Stone keys in to some of the most painful themes in contemporary fiction. F ar from incidental, or gratuitous, that pain is integrated into Dorrestein' s exploration of how a fiction might respond to a child's question--"What h appens to dead people"--posed in the most extreme circumstances. "The poli ce discovered Carlos and me huddled in the darkest corner of Billie's old c ellar, sobbing with fright"': one of the first indications of what has happ ened appears early in this novel that, like its narrator, swerves away from finding, and telling, more--at least until the very end of the book when, with tact and care, Dorrestein forces her character (and readers) up agains.

Product Info

ISBN: 0552998362

ISBN-13: 9780552998369

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Year: 2001

Type: Used

Binding: Softcover

Seller Info

InfinityBooksJapan

Address: 1F Komagata Heights Bldg Tokyo,

Website: https://www.infinitybooksjapan.com

Country: Japan