by KathyPage (Author)
In Thatcher's Britain, barely out of his teens, highly intelligent but illiterate and with a childhood of care homes and fostering behind him, Simon Austen is sent down for life for murdering his girlfriend. He did it but he doesn't know why - or maybe doesn't want to know why. Or both ...Then Simon makes an important decision to rehabilitate himself on his own terms. He learns to read and write; then, daringly, from his high security prison, begins an illicit correspondence with members of the opposite sex. Language suddenly takes on a new significance and the world opens up. But what kind of relationships are possible for a man who has committed an appalling crime? As Simon puts it: What will she be like? And who will I become? Through Simon's journey into himself, his search for answers, sometimes perilous and always unpredictable, we are forced to explore both our understanding of identity and our ambivalent attitudes to crime, justice and the possibility of redemption.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 264
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 08 Jul 2004
ISBN 10: 029760788X
ISBN 13: 9780297607885
Book Overview: THE STORY OF MY FACE received widespread review coverage, was longlisted for the Orange Prize and sold over 7,000 copies in hardback (includes bookclub and export). This novel is partly based on Kathy's own experiences teaching creative writing in UK prisons. It will be endorsed by Erwin James - author of 'A Life Inside', the Guardian column. Kathy was in the UK for publication, and we will make the most of the many publicity angles in the novel; Kathy's work in prisons, the prisoners she has met, the fact that she is writing from the point of view of a male murderer, her views on the British criminal justice system.