I Am Clarence by Elaine Kraf - ISBN: 9780593731857
Paperback
Motherhood’s fierce love tested by mental health and sacrifice.
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$31.50

  • Paperback

    224 pages

  • Release Date

    13 May 2025

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Summary

A haunting novel exploring a mother’s fierce love for her disabled son as she grapples with her own mental health, by the author of the feminist cult classic The Princess of 72nd Street.

“According to Dr. Hovenclock, health meant wanting things. What would I have to pretend to want before he would let me leave? I longed to return to Clarence.”

For Clarence’s mother, life revolves around her young son; she takes him to see specialists to find the cause of his blindness…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780593731857
ISBN-10:0593731859
Author:Elaine Kraf, Sarah Manguso
Publisher:Random House USA Inc
Imprint:Random House Inc
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:224
Release Date:13 May 2025
Weight:369g
Dimensions:132mm x 203mm
Series:Modern Library Torchbearers
A-Format
B-Format
I Am Clarence by Elaine Kraf - ISBN: 9780593731857
132 × 203 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Deliciously off-kilter [and as] brilliant as it is unsettling … This rediscovered classic was ahead of its time with its wrenching, kaleidoscopic account of a single mother struggling with mental health and raising a child with a disability… . A hidden gem.”Shelf Awareness

About The Author

Elaine Kraf

Elaine Kraf (1936-2013) was a writer and painter.

Published Works:

  • I Am Clarence (1969)
  • The House of Madelaine (1971)
  • Find Him! (1977)
  • The Princess of 72nd Street (1979)

She also authored several unpublished novels, plays, and poetry collections.

Awards and Residencies:

  • Two National Endowment for the Arts awards
  • 1971 fellowship at the Broad Loaf Writers’ Conference
  • 1977 residency at Yaddo

Born and raised in New York City, she lived there throughout her life.

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