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Bezig met laden... At the Jerusalemdoor Paul Bailey
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At the Jerusalem remains a striking example of what Philip Hensher, on the dust jacket, calls “imaginative empathy” – a young man’s journey through an old woman’s mind.... Bailey captures Mrs Gadny through her dialogue and her letters, through the observations of other characters, through small pieces of visual description and the quick-fire notation of her thoughts. For a first-timer his command of technical resources is bizarrely smooth, if not virtuoso.... I would struggle to name a novel by a living English writer more worthy of republication.
'A very funny book, but never jeering, full of pity, but unsentimentally harsh with the tragedy of old age which institutional kindness cannot cushion' Financial Times. Following the death from leukaemia of her daughter, Celia, Mrs Gadny goes to live with her sullen stepson Henry. But she finds little affection or contentment either with him, or with his selfish wife Thelma, or with their ungrateful children. She is sent to an old people's home, 'The Jerusalem', a converted workhouse, green-and-white-tiled. Mrs Gadny is repulsed and humiliated by the home and its inmates: women like acid-tongued Miss Trimmer, the vulgar toothless Mrs Affery, and Mrs O'Blath with her hysterical laughter. Retreating from the kindness offered her by the nurses and the friendly Mrs Capes, she withdraws into her memories, but even their fragmented recollection provides small comfort. Mrs Gadny's only escape from 'The Jerusalem' lies in her own crumbling consciousness. Paul Bailey is sensitive to the exact nuance of conversation, the precise detail that can create an environment or a mood, and draw the reader into it. His book is an exquisitely defined miniature whose impression will not easily be forgotten. With an introduction by Colm Tóibín. Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)823.91Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999LC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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