Beloved Stranger (Paperback)

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Review
'An unusual and original story, beautifully told.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Terse and truthful...Boylan chips away with forensic delicacy at the accretions of old age to find the quick characters within.' INDEPENDENT 'Boylan poignantly captures the weary sense of responsibility of an only daughter and, in Dick and Lily, she brilliantly conveys the messy progress of married life.' SUNDAY TIMES 'Few novels had looked into the heart of long-term marriage with such clear-eyed compassion as BELOVED STRANGER.' IRISH TIMES 'Clare Boylan's graceful prose enhances this gentle story about a marriage.' IRELAND SUNDAY TRIBUNE 'An acutely observed portrait of emotions and lives in transition, with resounding belief in the redeemability of even the most flawed personalities.' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'She is always sharp, intelligent, witty and moving and should be celebrated for her gleaming prose and infallible instinct for how people are.' IMAGE 'The author delves deep and the result is a truly touching read.' RTE GUIDE 'Her writing is refined to the bone, she can evoke tears of both laughter and sadness at a stroke, her imagery is masterful.' EVENING HERALD 'Clare Boylan excels at prising the lid off family life.' SUNDAY TRIBUNE

Product Description
Dick and Lily have been married for fifty years, and Lily finally believes that marriage is like an old tune you take for granted but find yourself whistling when you're happy. Until the night she wakes to find her husband's pyjama'd bottom poking out from under the bed. He claims there's an intruder and he's got him in his sights. When she turns on the light he backs out, holding a shotgun. 'Bugger got away when you created a diversion' he says. The comic incident marks the start of Dick's terrifying plunge into insanity. He enters a world of imaginary enemies, fantastic opportunities, sexual rivals. For an old-fashioned wife who accepted her partner for better or worse, there is nowhere left to turn except to her only daughter. Ruth, who has turned her back on emotional commitment in favour of good sex with good friends is now forced to penetrate the conspiratorial and chaotic web of her parents' marriage. Part love story, part thriller, BELOVED STRANGER is also, an analysis of marriage - a changeless institution in a vastly altered world, a private dictatorship where love and fear, tenderness or tyranny remain hidden at its heart.

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In September, Mr and Mrs Butler discovered broccoli. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
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5 Reviews 5 star:  (5) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply compassionate, beautifully written novel., 3 Oct 1999 By A Customer This review is from: Beloved Stranger (Hardcover) This is the best novel I have read all year, and undoubtedly Boylan's best yet. She has managed to make a book charting manic depression, and a stifling marriage spanning half a century come to life magnificently. At first one feels little more than sympathy for Dick and Lily, but by the end of this deeply satisfying novel, I loved them all dearly. I cannot recommend this enough! Read it! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and moving, 2 Aug 2000 By A Customer This review is from: Beloved Stranger (Hardcover) A beautifully constructed tale of marriage and manic depression, in which all the characters are portrayed with warmth and sensitivity. I read it almost at one sitting, so intense was the atmosphere and gripping the tale. A very sympathetic account of an initially somewhat distant daughter dealing with the changes manic depression creates in her parents' relationship. Wonderful description of her relationship with her elderly parents, particularly her accepting yet amazingly resilent mother. For anyone interested in issues of manic depression (bipolar disorder as it is also known) can I suggest Kay Redfield Jamison's book: An Unquiet Mind (Picador). Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Beloved Stranger, 12 Jul 2003 By A Customer This review is from: Beloved Stranger (Hardcover) It's the first time I have read a book by this author.It was brilliant.very moving, but with humour.Taking you through the trauma of someone losing his mind.So well written,I couldn't put it down.Lovely book. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 5 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written This is the first book I have read by Claire Boylan. She writes so descriptively. In the American edition, Dick's wife is Lily, not Eunace. Read more Published on 20 May 2001 5.0 out of 5 stars thoughtful portrayal of marriage and mental illness I loved this book. Within a couple of chapters, I was hooked and I knew Dick and Lily and suffered with them as their problems were laid bare. Read more Published on 3 Jan 2001 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 5 customer reviews...

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