The Afterlife

The Afterlife

by Donald Antrim (Author)

Synopsis

Donald Antrim?s mother Louanne was a difficult woman: an operatically suicidal, chainsmoking, delusional alcoholic who even when sober believed that her cat Merlin was a descendant of the Arthurian necromancer. Seeing his own life bound up in her relentless deterioration, Donald Antrim embarks on this strange, marvellous memoir in an attempt to make sense of his mother and her legacy. A series of tragic-comic adventures in psychological dysfunction, Antrim?s personal journey takes him wandering across the Southern states of America, tracing the bust-ups, reconciliations, and migrations of his warring parents. Gradually he unpicks the stories of his childhood, and the characters: his handsome sportsman uncle; his hardworking, bewildered Episcopalian grandparents; and his mother herself - alarming, melodramatic, manipulative, reckless and brave. This is a vivid, unmissable Technicolor slideshow of a memoir.

$34.41

Quantity

1 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 224
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Published: 01 Mar 2007

ISBN 10: 0316729795
ISBN 13: 9780316729796

Media Reviews
** 'I read THE AFTERLIFE with admiration. This must have been a difficult book to write ... but he performs the dance artfully. Formally perfect, filled with grace, wit, and the only sort of love that's worth offering' PETER CAREY, Irish Times Books of the Year ** 'Shocking, hilarious, painful; Louanne ... is no longer breathing but she's still there, in every word. A bad ma, but a great, great book' RODDY DOYLE, Irish Times Books of the Year ** 'I read Donald Antrim's THE AFTERLIFE with admiration. This must have been a difficult book to write ... but he performs the dance artfully. Formally perfect, filled with grace, wit and the only sort of love that's worth offering' PETER CAREY, Irish Times Books of the Year ** 'Shocking, hilarious, painful; Louanne, the mammy, is no longer breathing, but she's still there, in every word. A bad ma, but a great, great book' RODDY DOYLE, Irish Times Books of the Year **
Author Bio
Donald Antrim is an editor (formerly at Little, Brown USA) and highly acclaimed writer, and regularly contributes to the NEW YORKER. He lives in New York.