The Nobodies Album
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Sharp and engaging...a gleaming alloy of mystery and confessional...Guilt and (mostly parental) responsibility emerge as powerful themes to unite the two traumas of a well-paced and convincingly populated novel' (Independent )
'Not just a book about a novelist in action, it's also a meditation on writing itself and on the curious intersections between the imagined world and the real one. . .brisk and engaging. . .the book succeeds in probing nuanced issues of guilt and innocence through an intricate collage of memories and musings. . .Those are some real mysteries, well worth grappling with.' (Washington Post )
'A massively readable and thought-provoking story' (Heat four-star review )
'Emotionally charged...moving and poignant' (Stylist )
'Not just a book about a novelist in action, it's also a meditation on writing itself and on the curious intersections between the imagined world and the real one. . .brisk and engaging. . .the book succeeds in probing nuanced issues of guilt and innocence through an intricate collage of memories and musings. . .Those are some real mysteries, well worth grappling with.' (Washington Post )
'A massively readable and thought-provoking story' (Heat four-star review )
'Emotionally charged...moving and poignant' (Stylist )
Review
'Sharp and engaging...a gleaming alloy of mystery and confessional...Guilt and (mostly parental) responsibility emerge as powerful themes to unite the two traumas of a well-paced and convincingly populated novel' -- Independent 'Not just a book about a novelist in action, it's also a meditation on writing itself and on the curious intersections between the imagined world and the real one...brisk and engaging...the book succeeds in probing nuanced issues of guilt and innocence through an intricate collage of memories and musings...Those are some real mysteries, well worth grappling with.' -- Washington Post 'A massively readable and thought-provoking story' -- Heat four-star review 'Emotionally charged...moving and poignant' -- Stylist
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Nobodies Album is described as a murder mystery, but it is so much more than that. It is an insightful look into the relationship between a mother and her grown-up child, but it is also a clever piece of meta-fiction - questioning whether a story ever really ends and what rights an author has to a book once it has been published.
The Nobodies Album begins with Octavia Frost, a famous novelist, discovering that her son has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend. She dashes across the country to be with him, despite the fact that they haven't seen each other for years. Scared and emotional she waits to see if she will be accepted back into his life and begins the painful process of discovering whether or not he is guilty of the crime. I thought that the book perfectly captured the emotions of parenthood - covering the nature versus nurture debate as well as the guilt experienced when a child behaves inappropriately. The meta-fictional style made these emotions seem all the more honest and realistic.
"Now that the moment is here, it's not what I expected at all. That's the fundamental flaw in the illusion that writers like to maintain, the idea that we can craft anything approaching truth. No matter how richly we imagine, no matter how vividly we set the scene, we never come close to the unambiguous realness of the moment itself."
Interwoven with the narrative are snippets from Octavia Frost's novels. Life experiences have altered the way she views the world and so she has decided to create a new book in which she rewrites the ending to all her previous novels. The snippets didn't come across as realistic endings as each contained the sort of information that normally begins a novel, but I'm willing to forgive this because each of the stories was so interesting in its own right. I could easily have read full-length versions of most of them - especially the one in which people forget everything that is too traumatic.
It is difficult to explain just how clever this novel is. There is so much going on, but Carolyn Parkhurst's skill as a writer ensures that the reader is never lost. It could easily have felt gimmicky, but the emotional rawness of the text lent an authenticity to it.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in parental responsibilty or how the writing process changes with experience, but also to anyone looking for a gripping narrative with an original, thought provoking style.
The Nobodies Album begins with Octavia Frost, a famous novelist, discovering that her son has been arrested for murdering his girlfriend. She dashes across the country to be with him, despite the fact that they haven't seen each other for years. Scared and emotional she waits to see if she will be accepted back into his life and begins the painful process of discovering whether or not he is guilty of the crime. I thought that the book perfectly captured the emotions of parenthood - covering the nature versus nurture debate as well as the guilt experienced when a child behaves inappropriately. The meta-fictional style made these emotions seem all the more honest and realistic.
"Now that the moment is here, it's not what I expected at all. That's the fundamental flaw in the illusion that writers like to maintain, the idea that we can craft anything approaching truth. No matter how richly we imagine, no matter how vividly we set the scene, we never come close to the unambiguous realness of the moment itself."
Interwoven with the narrative are snippets from Octavia Frost's novels. Life experiences have altered the way she views the world and so she has decided to create a new book in which she rewrites the ending to all her previous novels. The snippets didn't come across as realistic endings as each contained the sort of information that normally begins a novel, but I'm willing to forgive this because each of the stories was so interesting in its own right. I could easily have read full-length versions of most of them - especially the one in which people forget everything that is too traumatic.
It is difficult to explain just how clever this novel is. There is so much going on, but Carolyn Parkhurst's skill as a writer ensures that the reader is never lost. It could easily have felt gimmicky, but the emotional rawness of the text lent an authenticity to it.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in parental responsibilty or how the writing process changes with experience, but also to anyone looking for a gripping narrative with an original, thought provoking style.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
49 reviews
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
The End?
7 May 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
There's a lot going on in this book.
The framework that sort of houses the multi-layered story is somewhat of a murder mystery. It's not the strongest part of the story (in my opinion) but definitely works to house the rest of the story: What's most important ... the relating and the relationships.
Olivia Frost, a fairly successful author, has decided that her 8th novel should be new endings for her previous seven books. She's estranged from her rock-star son, until he's accused of murder, and they have tragedy in their family history. The details of their past, and snippets of each of the "alternate endings" are woven throughout the book.
Reading the "endings" was like having short stories in the midst of a novel, and though I hated being jarred out of the main story, I really enjoyed those parts and as with most short stories, they were over just as I was wishing there was more.
Parkhurst does grief and family dynamics so well. There are scenes between the mother and son that are so relatable to me, I felt she could have plucked them right out of my own dialog. There's darkness and sadness, and a little bit of humor.
The writing is great, and as with Parkhurst's previous novels, she really creates atmosphere and emotion. It's a really fast-paced read.
I enjoyed it immensely, and will now begin the wait for Parkhurt's next, and hoping it won't be a terribly long wait.
The framework that sort of houses the multi-layered story is somewhat of a murder mystery. It's not the strongest part of the story (in my opinion) but definitely works to house the rest of the story: What's most important ... the relating and the relationships.
Olivia Frost, a fairly successful author, has decided that her 8th novel should be new endings for her previous seven books. She's estranged from her rock-star son, until he's accused of murder, and they have tragedy in their family history. The details of their past, and snippets of each of the "alternate endings" are woven throughout the book.
Reading the "endings" was like having short stories in the midst of a novel, and though I hated being jarred out of the main story, I really enjoyed those parts and as with most short stories, they were over just as I was wishing there was more.
Parkhurst does grief and family dynamics so well. There are scenes between the mother and son that are so relatable to me, I felt she could have plucked them right out of my own dialog. There's darkness and sadness, and a little bit of humor.
The writing is great, and as with Parkhurst's previous novels, she really creates atmosphere and emotion. It's a really fast-paced read.
I enjoyed it immensely, and will now begin the wait for Parkhurt's next, and hoping it won't be a terribly long wait.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
On Motherhood And Murder: Changing The Ending Doesn't Automatically Change The Story
15 Jun 2010
Format:Hardcover
Carolyn Parkhurst's "The Nobodies Album" is, on the surface, a fairly routine murder mystery. But describing it as such is to shortchange the complexities of this unique, uncompromising, and pretty wonderful novel. In addition to the central mystery, Parkhurst delivers one of the most searing and unflinching looks at familial alienation one is likely to encounter. Layered into an unconventional literary narrative, "The Nobodies Album" confronts how people cope with tragedy and how they can come to terms with and struggle to change the existence they've fallen into. Meaningful and emotionally satisfying, I ended up feeling that the central plot device (the murder itself and its resolution) to be the least compelling thing about the book.
Centered around a famous novelist Octavia Frost, "The Nobodies Album" explores her troubled relationship with her son Milo. When Milo, a renowned alt-rocker in San Francisco, discovers his fiancée brutally murdered after a night in which he has blacked out--he finds himself the prime suspect in the international media circus that follows. Having been estranged from Milo for many years, Octavia sees this as a chance for reconnection and redemption. The two share a difficult past, their relationship never having fully recovered from the accidental death of Octavia's husband and daughter. And it is the tentative progress of their bond that propels the heart of Parkhurst's story.
The grand success of "The Nobodies Album" rests on the character of Octavia Frost. Maddening and emotionally distant, it is her struggle to try to put the past into a meaningful context that drives the narrative. In alternate chapters, we are treated to various excerpts from her past novels in addition to their newly revised endings. Her current project (the titular experiment called "The Nobodies Album") is to alter these pages to reflect her current state of mind--and, in a way, erase some of the more personal and painful aspects of herself from the books. But dealing with Milo in the present showcases the importance of building on and confronting past mistakes as opposed to trying to make them disappear. Octavia is a difficult character to love, or even like, and yet I identified with her in a thousand ways. Parkhurst doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of her personality and, in being so frank, has created a character that will endure in my memory for many months to come.
Centered around a famous novelist Octavia Frost, "The Nobodies Album" explores her troubled relationship with her son Milo. When Milo, a renowned alt-rocker in San Francisco, discovers his fiancée brutally murdered after a night in which he has blacked out--he finds himself the prime suspect in the international media circus that follows. Having been estranged from Milo for many years, Octavia sees this as a chance for reconnection and redemption. The two share a difficult past, their relationship never having fully recovered from the accidental death of Octavia's husband and daughter. And it is the tentative progress of their bond that propels the heart of Parkhurst's story.
The grand success of "The Nobodies Album" rests on the character of Octavia Frost. Maddening and emotionally distant, it is her struggle to try to put the past into a meaningful context that drives the narrative. In alternate chapters, we are treated to various excerpts from her past novels in addition to their newly revised endings. Her current project (the titular experiment called "The Nobodies Album") is to alter these pages to reflect her current state of mind--and, in a way, erase some of the more personal and painful aspects of herself from the books. But dealing with Milo in the present showcases the importance of building on and confronting past mistakes as opposed to trying to make them disappear. Octavia is a difficult character to love, or even like, and yet I identified with her in a thousand ways. Parkhurst doesn't shy away from the unpleasant aspects of her personality and, in being so frank, has created a character that will endure in my memory for many months to come.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Parkhurst's Worlds
6 July 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Other reviewers have referred to the murder mystery as the central plot point and thus what the book is about. It isn't. The mystery is secondary, and the genius of this book is Parkhurst's ability to once again give us a wealth of characters, each of whom she makes mulit-faceted for the readers. Central is the writer, of course, and we discover her as layers and layers peel away. She, like all Parkhurst's characters is deliciously complex. The novels she has "written" and the reasons she wants to revisit them and the ways they relate to what we are learning about her life--Pure Delight.
Character development, quirky and original plots, and simply beautiful writing are the prizes waiting for readers of Parkhurst.
I adore all three of Parkhurst's books, and I recommend them with virtual applause.
Character development, quirky and original plots, and simply beautiful writing are the prizes waiting for readers of Parkhurst.
I adore all three of Parkhurst's books, and I recommend them with virtual applause.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
