- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate (3 April 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007216637
- ISBN-13: 978-0007216635
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,985,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
‘I was transfixed, gulping it down, desperate to… ind out how the spiralling misery of…characters would be resolved.’ Guardian
‘This is a dark and brooding novel an examination of one man’s mid-life crisis. Particularly impressive is Harrison’s ability to write about sex in a way that is explicit and revealing but never prurient.’ Mail on Sunday
‘Rendered in a prose so lapidary, with the lovely surface bloom of some rare and exquisite work of art. Gracefully wayward mixture of sex and grief.’ Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph
‘In Harrison’s intense and sometimes unbearably moving novel, the fallen masonry of history reassembles itself. Compelling and genuinely disturbing.’ The Times
‘A marvelous writer, one of the best at work today. She is unflinching, however difficult her material. Her characters are complex, her dialogue razor-sharp and her range – moral, historical and geographical – is unparalleled. Few authors of serious literary fiction are so daring.’ Daily Telegraph ‘Novel of the Week’
‘Harrison’s precise control over the story and her delivery of one central and splendidly lubricious sex scene make “Envy” an engrossing read. Harrison’s complex tale of damaged personal interactions invites serious reflection.’ Time Out
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Will Moreland is a successful psychoanalyst, married with two children and much as he thinks he is able to think his way through his grief over the death of his ten-year-old son Luke a couple years earlier, he can't. He thinks he sees clearly, but his vision is clouded. And he is obsessed, obsessed over the tragic drowning, obsessed over sex and obsessed over the fact that he may be the father of a child he's never seen. Add the fact that he is horribly jealous of his famous twin brother and you have a man who has some serious problems, successful psychoanalyst or not.
Will is about to take a trip into a dark place nobody wants to go, deep into the netherworld of his mind, a kind of self brought about hell on earth and his first step is when he goes to his twenty-fifth college reunion and confronts his old girlfriend, demanding to know if he is the father of her child. She tells him to buzz off and, of course, he won't, so it's down, down he goes and on his journey he meets a patient on his shrink's sofa who is so seductive that, well you get the picture. Then there is his philandering father, just another notch on the gun handle of Will's problems.
Will's obsessions and his journey make for delicious reading. The book is sexually explicit, sexually frank and sexually exciting, even if it is a bit rough on the old psyche at times. I know I couldn't put it down, but then I'm no stranger to sexually explicit writing. A prude might have a problem with this five star book, but if she gave it a chance it might open her eyes a bit and she might learn a thing or two worth knowing. This is a darn good book and worth every one of the five stars I'm giving it.
Review Submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
Will is about to take a trip into a dark place nobody wants to go, deep into the netherworld of his mind, a kind of self brought about hell on earth and his first step is when he goes to his twenty-fifth college reunion and confronts his old girlfriend, demanding to know if he is the father of her child. She tells him to buzz off and, of course, he won't, so it's down, down he goes and on his journey he meets a patient on his shrink's sofa who is so seductive that, well you get the picture. Then there is his philandering father, just another notch on the gun handle of Will's problems.
Will's obsessions and his journey make for delicious reading. The book is sexually explicit, sexually frank and sexually exciting, even if it is a bit rough on the old psyche at times. I know I couldn't put it down, but then I'm no stranger to sexually explicit writing. A prude might have a problem with this five star book, but if she gave it a chance it might open her eyes a bit and she might learn a thing or two worth knowing. This is a darn good book and worth every one of the five stars I'm giving it.
Review Submitted by Captain Katie Osborne
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
No one recommended this author to me; no one recommended me the book - I just liked the sound of it, and I shall be going back for more by this author for sure. Kathryn Harrison is that rare breed - an intelligent, challenging writer, who not only has a keen power of observation but can also tell a story so tranfixing you cannot put the book down. Hurrah, what a find!
Harrison tackles difficult emotional terrain and taboo subjects with grace and insight, and - to me anyway - creates a very convincing male protagonist. Now I maybe a woman and wrong about that, but one thing I am SURE of - she can write about sex. Which is an art in itself. Double hurrah!
I won't give away the plot, as it has some wonderful - if slightly O.T.T. (hence my four not five stars) - twists and turns, but I will heartily recommend it.
My mother and I have BOTH devoured 'Envy' in a handful of days apiece. Give it a go!
Harrison tackles difficult emotional terrain and taboo subjects with grace and insight, and - to me anyway - creates a very convincing male protagonist. Now I maybe a woman and wrong about that, but one thing I am SURE of - she can write about sex. Which is an art in itself. Double hurrah!
I won't give away the plot, as it has some wonderful - if slightly O.T.T. (hence my four not five stars) - twists and turns, but I will heartily recommend it.
My mother and I have BOTH devoured 'Envy' in a handful of days apiece. Give it a go!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Envy' came close to exceeding my tolerance for the American love of psychobabble, given that it's central protagonist is a psychiatrist and certain of its premises also touched the extremities of suspension of belief. At a certain level, however, it is very intelligently written and it cannot be accused of holding back on the depths of sibling rivalry. These can be primeval, and brother on brother envy is at the crux of story development in this book. It works very well for most of its somewhat protracted length, though the compulsion to pick the book up is not irrisistible.
The people are well characterised; there are no stereotypes. Perhaps Will's wife Carole is a little too good to be true? But some of the other women more than make up for her. The story involves betrayal, the death of a child and sexual shenanigans of a most intruiging kind. Product placement in this regard might be worth attention.
I found this book enjoyable, with a satisfactory denouement but I doubt if I'll respect it in the morning.
The people are well characterised; there are no stereotypes. Perhaps Will's wife Carole is a little too good to be true? But some of the other women more than make up for her. The story involves betrayal, the death of a child and sexual shenanigans of a most intruiging kind. Product placement in this regard might be worth attention.
I found this book enjoyable, with a satisfactory denouement but I doubt if I'll respect it in the morning.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Missed its mark with me
I was disappointed with my response to this because it was a well-written book with an interesting plot. In spite of those factors it failed to move me. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2009 by Net
A Beautifully Written, Intelligent Novel - A Real Winner!
Kathryn Harrison's latest novel, "Envy," opens with protagonist Will Moreland, a New York City psychoanalytic psychotherapist, about to attend his 25th college reunion. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2005 by Jana L. Perskie
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