Summary
A brilliant novel from one of the world’s most influential literary critics.
Upstate is a funny, moving family drama from one of the world’s most influential literary critics.
‘Thoughtful and though-provoking’ - Financial Times
Alan Querry, a successful property developer from the north of England, has two daughters: Vanessa, a philosopher who lives and teaches in Saratoga Springs, NY, and Helen, a record company executive based in London. The sisters never quite recov…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781784708054 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1784708054 |
| Author: | James Wood |
| Publisher: | Vintage Publishing |
| Imprint: | Vintage |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 240 |
| Release Date: | 7 March 2019 |
| Weight: | 195g |
| Dimensions: | 15mm x 129mm x 198mm |
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Critics Review
Wood can produce sentences as fine as bone china.
Wood can produce sentences as fine as bone china. – Claire Allfree * Daily Mail *
Those who know Wood as the New Yorker’s literary critic would do well to pick up his novels, too. Upstate is a funny, moving family drama. * GQ *
Captures the anxious plight of a loving father with exquisite delicacy … Its affections are large and its wisdom deep … One can’t help but feel enriched by the treasure of Wood’s sweet-tempered wit. – Ron Charles * Washington Post *
Its energy derives from feted critic James Wood’s observational chops, and you can expect muscular descriptions … and modest, deeply humane revelations … Polished, poignant and often very funny. – Hephzibah Anderson * Mail on Sunday *
Uncharted physical and emotional terrain collide in James Wood’s thoughtful and thought-provoking second novel Upstate, a deceptively gentle exploration of the wounds of the past, the complex mesh of family relationships and the ways in which they aid or obstruct our strategies for healing … stubbornly true to life. – Rebecca Abrams * Financial Times *
Wood’s insightful novel is short but deep, possessing the openness of a short story … The writing is beautiful, the location snow-crunchingly real … A quietly engrossing read. – Ella Walker * Herald *
Moving… Perfectly pitched by Wood. – Ben Hamilton * Spectator *
[James Wood] has a canny eye for detail, writes a good metaphor … and sets his scenes meticulously. – James Marriott * The Times *
There is much to admire [in Upstate]… flashes of brilliance at sentence level… This is how fiction works. – David Annand * Literary Review *
Upstate, a new novel by the literary critic James Wood, asks readers to consider a fundamental question: can one think one’s way into happiness? … Everything [Wood] does is underscored by humour. A great strength of Upstate is its general snap and vigour, and one sees this across Wood’s criticism, too. – Emma Brockes * Guardian *
James Wood
Born in Durham in 1965, James Wood has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2007. He was the chief literary critic at the Guardian from 1992 to 1995, and a senior editor at The New Republic from 1995 to 2007. His books include How Fiction Works, which has been translated into fifteen languages.
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