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The Book of Proper Names [Paperback]

Amélie Nothomb (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 6 May 2004

From France's 'literary lioness' (Elle), The Book of Proper Names is the story of the hapless orphan girl, Plectrude. Raised by her aunt, and unaware of the dark secret behind her past, she is a troubled but dreamy child who is both blessed and cursed by her intoxicating eyes. Discovered to have enormous gifts as a dancer, she is accepted at Paris's most prestigious ballet school where she devotes herself to artistic perfection, until her body can take no more.

In a brilliantly succinct story of haunted adolescence and lost mothers, Nothomb propels the narrative forward until Plectrude is forced to take command of her own fate.

Vintage Nothomb, The Book of Proper Names marks the UK debut of one of the most brilliant, ambitious, and idiosyncratic voices to have emerged in years.

'Slyly outrageous. [Nothomb] both disturbs and amuses.' New York Times

'Readers who have yet to discover the feather-ruffling pleasures of reading popular Belgian author Nothomb, winner of the Prix du Roman de l'Académie Française and other prizes, should jump at the chance.' Kirkus Reviews

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The Book of Proper Names + Fear and Trembling + The Character of Rain
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Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (6 May 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571220339
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571220335
  • Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.6 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,388,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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› Visit Amazon's Amélie Nothomb Page
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Product Description

Review

"Exquisite... Amelie Nothomb is such an utter astonishment, the shock of reading her for the first time is like realising you have missed a whole movement, or a century, in the scheme of things.' Scotland on Sunday; 'She makes the most unlikely things possible... her tale is strangely dreamlike. You know it can't possibly be real but it's utterly believable. [You] want to start again the moment the book finishes.' The Times; 'A disturbing, fantastical moral tale for our times... She captures the crucial aspects of growing up with a light yet darkly comic touch' Guardian" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Belgian by nationality, Amélie Nothomb was born in Kobe, Japan, and currently lives in Paris. Described by Time Magazine as 'prolific and ingenious', she is the best-selling author of thirteen novels, translated into thirty languages. Fear and Trembling won the Grand Prix of the Académie Française and the Prix Internet du Livre. The Book of Proper Names was originally published in France, as Robert Des Noms Propres, where it has sold over 250,000 copies.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars V.short, unusual 31 Oct 2009
By E. Kernan
Format:Paperback
The book is very very short. It could be read in a few hours
The first half of the book - the introduction and development of the main character is very refreshing, it is different. I can understand some people would love it or hate.
However this book would not be suited to anyone wanting to read about a character ednos experience in detail. The characters lack of appetite is referred to her childhood in the odd sentence- her attitude to eating is detailed in a few pages regarding her mental change in the ballet school. Aside from the mention of her family's attitude to her recovery that is it.
The ending is quick.

I would give the book a higher rating for its uniqueness- but at that price it really is to short a read.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Proper Names, Amelie Nothomb 2 Jun 2005
By RachelWalker TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This little, eccentric book is simply wonderful. The story of precocious orphan Plectrude, blessed with a gift for dance and a very curious imagination, it's a brilliant story of childhood, and Nothomb clearly has a special talent for inveigling herself into the childhood psyche. The book carries an absolutely unique sense of what it feels like to be a child, the selfishness of childhood, the sense that a childhood might feel like forever. While it has serious undertones - the pressures put on children by their parents; the power of love or the perception of it; the perspective-skewing powers of ambition and desire - it's also a sly, funny, sharp little book. Very funny indeed.

Nothomb's writing is fluid, the flow of plot is swift and incredibly engaging, and her small insights are remarkably perceptive. Heavy on dialogue - and very short anyway - it's a really quick read you can probably finish off in a sitting. It may be short, but it's hugely satisfying (the eccentric ending is very odd but very good), and a tremendously entertaining book. Plectrude is a marvellous little character, and is certainly the novella's great triumph among many.

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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Like mother like daughter? 28 Feb 2009
By Annabel Gaskell TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
A rather disturbing and definitely absurdist sort of Ugly Duckling story.
It features Plectrude, an orphan born of a mother who murdered her father when he suggested a silly name for their baby. Her mother then committed suicide, leaving Plectrude to be brought up by her sister, who always wanted to be a ballerina. Plectrude has a difficult time at school, but then gets accepted by the ballet school, and learns to be anorexic before finally finding love and becoming a swan.
I hope that real ballet school is not al all like that in this book, where the girls are ruled by a rod of iron that make them willingly starve themselves and drive their emaciated bodies to the absolute limits of their endurance. The vicarious pleasure that Plectrude's aunt took in her charge's body was troubling.
Both serious and silly, this short little novel has plenty to say for itself, and I enjoyed it - racing through to see how Plectrude would fare in life, especially once she finds out about her mother.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Proper Names, Amelie Nothomb 6 Jun 2005
By RachelWalker TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This little, eccentric book is simply wonderful. The story of precocious orphan Plectrude, blessed with a gift for dance and a very curious imagination, it's a brilliant story of childhood, and Nothomb clearly has a special talent for inveigling herself into the childhood psyche. The book carries an absolutely unique sense of what it feels like to be a child, the selfishness of childhood, the sense that a childhood might feel like forever. While it has serious undertones - the pressures put on children by their parents; the power of love or the perception of it; the perspective-skewing powers of ambition and desire - it's also a sly, funny, sharp little book. Very funny indeed.

Nothomb's writing is fluid, the flow of plot is swift and incredibly engaging, and her small insights are remarkably perceptive. Heavy on dialogue - and very short anyway - it's a really quick read you can probably finish off in a sitting. It may be short, but it's hugely satisfying (the eccentric ending is very odd but very good), and a tremendously entertaining book. Plectrude is a marvellous little character, and is certainly the novella's great triumph among many.

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Was this review helpful to you?
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Book of Proper Names, Amelie Nothomb 6 Jun 2005
By RachelWalker TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This little, eccentric book is simply wonderful. The story of precocious orphan Plectrude, blessed with a gift for dance and a very curious imagination, it's a brilliant story of childhood, and Nothomb clearly has a special talent for inveigling herself into the childhood psyche. The book carries an absolutely unique sense of what it feels like to be a child, the selfishness of childhood, the sense that a childhood might feel like forever. While it has serious undertones - the pressures put on children by their parents; the power of love or the perception of it; the perspective-skewing powers of ambition and desire - it's also a sly, funny, sharp little book. Very funny indeed.

Nothomb's writing is fluid, the flow of plot is swift and incredibly engaging, and her small insights are remarkably perceptive. Heavy on dialogue - and very short anyway - it's a really quick read you can probably finish off in a sitting. It may be short, but it's hugely satisfying (the eccentric ending is very odd but very good), and a tremendously entertaining book. Plectrude is a marvellous little character, and is certainly the novella's great triumph among many.

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