In the Memorial Room by Janet Frame, Hardcover, 9781922147134 | Buy online at The Nile
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In the Memorial Room

Author: Janet Frame  

Janet Frame's previously unpublished novel draws on her own experiences in Menton, France as a Katherine Mansfield Fellow. It is a wonderful social satire, a send-up of the cult of the dead author, and--in the best tradition of Frame--a fascinating exploration of the complexity and the beauty of language.

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Summary

Janet Frame's previously unpublished novel draws on her own experiences in Menton, France as a Katherine Mansfield Fellow. It is a wonderful social satire, a send-up of the cult of the dead author, and--in the best tradition of Frame--a fascinating exploration of the complexity and the beauty of language.

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Description

Harry Gill, a moderately successful writer of historical fiction, has been awarded the annual Watercress-Armstrong Fellowship - a 'living memorial' to the poet, Margaret Rose Hurndell. He arrives in the small French village of Menton, where Hurndell once lived and worked, to write. But the Memorial Room is not suitable - it has no electricity or water. Hurndell never wrote here, though it is expected of Harry. Janet Frame's previously unpublished novel draws on her own experiences in Menton, France as a Katherine Mansfield Fellow. It is a wonderful social satire, a send-up of the cult of the dead author, and - in the best tradition of Frame - a fascinating exploration of the complexity and the beauty of language.

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Critic Reviews

“'The writing is exactly what we expect from Frame - gorgeous, delirious and shining with delight.'”

'In the Memorial Room is filled with terrifyingly beautiful reflections on how writing books (and even reading them) can feel like digging your own grave. It also serves as a sly warning to those of us who obsessively cherish the works of dead writers - even writers as good as Janet Frame. Watch out! The death you memorialize may well be your own.' New York Times Book Review 'Frame's sentences are marvels, winding like narrow alleys through hill towns: They open spectacular vistas. Brilliant.' -- Kirkus Reviews 'Delightful, funny and profound.' Metro Magazine (NZ) 'Not just a brilliant novel but a considered and poignant posthumous literary act, a curtain call by one of the world's greatest authors...A deeply funny book.' Weekend Australian '[In the Memorial Room] is a formidable work. It is also amusing, satirical, poetic and provocative - a real joy to read.' Sunday Star Times 'Reading this is like finding an unwrapped gift long-hidden at the back of the wardrobe. The novel is quite unlike anything else Frame penned, yet she is recognisable in every pore of every sentence and of every word. Her love of language is infectious and so, too, is her sense of humour.' NZ Herald 'A deliciously mischievous piece of fun, this is sharp social satire, ruthless in its mockery of literary pretension.' -- Caroline Baum, Booktopia -- bookiemonster.co.nz 'The layers of meaning and reference, autobiographical elements, vivid and poetic language, characterisation and satire in Frame's second posthumously published novel In the Memorial Room show again why she is one of New Zealand's literary greats.' Otago Daily Times 'A beautifully crafted artistic and philosophical creation that explores the nature of communication and exposes Frame's love of language.' Library Journal

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About the Author

Janet Frame was born in Dunedin in 1924. She was the author of eleven novels, five collections of stories, a volume of poetry and a children's book. She was a Burns Scholar and a Sargeson Fellow and won the New Zealand Scholarship in Letters and the Hubert Church Award for Prose. She was made a CBE in 1983 for services to literature, awarded an honorary doctorate of literature from Otago University in 1978, and one from Waikato University in 1992. She received New Zealand's highest civil honour in 1990 when she was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand. Janet Frame died in January 2004.

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Product Details

Publisher
Text Publishing | The Text Publishing Company
Published
24th April 2013
Pages
192
ISBN
9781922147134

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