Nothing To Be Afraid Of

by WillEaves (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2005

  $3.38

  On a warm summer's evening in 1999, an earthquake strikes the heart of London. The epicentre of the tremor is a theatre, where a lavish production of The Tempest has just opened. In the cast are friends and enemies, among them a preening star, a drunken failure, and Martha, a young actress. In the audience sits her clever sister, Alice. As the shockwaves subside, the veil between the real and the imaginary is lifted, and magical forces of envy, ambition, madness and romance invade the world: Alice and Martha vie for love and precedence on stage; a mesmerist indulges his worthless son; and Leslie Barrington, a washed-up Caliban, dreams of literary revenge. Behind the scenes, a family tragedy awaits discovery. The players are, one by one, unmasked. Nothing To Be Afraid Of is a tragedy of hope abandoned and innocence betrayed, but it is also an extravagant comic pageant of Shakespearean energy and compassion: an incidental theatrical history, across the twentieth century, of the art of pretence; of patience, trust and loyalty; of folly in youth and old age.

• Used

  Paperback
  2006

  $4.01

  An earthquake strikes at the heart of London, its epicenter a theatre where a lavish production of The Tempest has just opened. Thus, the scene is set for Will Eaves's gloriously deft tragicomedy of our time. Nothing To Be Afraid Of is both a lament for hope abandoned and innocence betrayed, and an exquisite comic pageant of Shakespearian vitality and compassion: an incidental theatrical history, across the twentieth century, of the art of pretence; of patience, trust and loyalty; of folly in youth and unforgivable old age. 'Tender, playful and full of beautifully observed descriptions of growing up and growing old...with some terrific comic set-pieces the equal of anything in Waugh and Wodehouse. Now that's good writing.' - Daily Telegraph . 'In the case of his novel, Eaves has nothing to be afraid of. This deft, absorbing book more than confirms the promise of The Oversight . Eaves is a master of the dark arts of city fiction. He is to be read, relished and watched very closely.' - Independent . ' Nothing To Be Afraid Of provides several coups de theatre...[it] is a tragicomic tale of secrets, a drowned daughter, infidelity and mistaken identity...It is so clever, so apt, so right that you have no option but to read the novel with its built-in encore all over again. It seems even better the second time round' - Sunday Telegraph .

• New

  Paperback
  2006

  $12.63

  An earthquake strikes at the heart of London, its epicenter a theatre where a lavish production of The Tempest has just opened. Thus, the scene is set for Will Eaves's gloriously deft tragicomedy of our time. Nothing To Be Afraid Of is both a lament for hope abandoned and innocence betrayed, and an exquisite comic pageant of Shakespearian vitality and compassion: an incidental theatrical history, across the twentieth century, of the art of pretence; of patience, trust and loyalty; of folly in youth and unforgivable old age. 'Tender, playful and full of beautifully observed descriptions of growing up and growing old...with some terrific comic set-pieces the equal of anything in Waugh and Wodehouse. Now that's good writing.' - Daily Telegraph . 'In the case of his novel, Eaves has nothing to be afraid of. This deft, absorbing book more than confirms the promise of The Oversight . Eaves is a master of the dark arts of city fiction. He is to be read, relished and watched very closely.' - Independent . ' Nothing To Be Afraid Of provides several coups de theatre...[it] is a tragicomic tale of secrets, a drowned daughter, infidelity and mistaken identity...It is so clever, so apt, so right that you have no option but to read the novel with its built-in encore all over again. It seems even better the second time round' - Sunday Telegraph .