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"* 'Wise Children is Angela Carter's best book. It deserves many prizes and, better than that, the affection of generations of readers' Times Literary Supplement * 'Inventive and brilliant' The Times * 'A funny, funny book, Wise Children is even better than Nights at the Circus. It deserves all the bouquets, diamonds and stage-door Johnnies it can get' Salman Rushdle, Independent on Sunday * 'Wonderful writing...there is not much fiction around that is as good as this' Ruth Rendell, Daily Telegraph"
Book Description
'One of the century's finest writers' Sunday Times
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
"It's every woman's tragedy that after a certain age, she looks like female impersonator."
20 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback
Originally published in 1991 and newly released in paperback, this final novel by Angela Carter (1940 - 1992) is a riotous, non-stop farce, as filled with twists, turns, travails--and twins-- as anything Shakespeare ever dreamed of. Told by Dora Chance at the age of seventy-five, the novel flashes back to the wildly iconoclastic childhood she shared with her twin sister Nora. "Chance by name. Chance by nature. We were not planned," Dora comments, explaining why they were unacknowledged and ignored by their father Melchior Hazard, the most famous Shakespearean actor of his day. ("The Hazards belonged to everyone," she declares. "They were a national treasure.")
Though their father may have been a "national treasure," he was also a self-centered and irresponsible hedonist, and Nora and Dora considered the doting Peregrine Hazard, Melchior's twin brother, their true "father." Brought up by their "Grandma" Chance, a "naturist" who claimed to be descended from the Booth family, the twins were surrounded by a bizarre assortment of "relatives," the result of their father's several marriages, which led to additional sets of Hazard twins who also adopted show business careers. As Dora describes her sexual coming-of-age, along with that of Nora, in bawdy and unapologetic language, she simultaneously describes their entry into show business as a song-and-dance team, a career that led to Hollywood.
As Dora's reminiscences continue at a manic pace--always exuberant, confident, and full of high emotion--the family's passion and love for life in all its variety become the real story here. With vibrant dialogue, the novel resembles an off-the-wall play, full of non-stop action, entrances, exits, asides, and even a Dramatis Personae, allowing the reader to keep track of all the characters and their relationships. The changing of partners and the game of "musical beds" keep the romantic aspect of the novel front and center, even as the family's dramatic contributions, some of them more significant than others, are celebrated.
Dora's story races headlong toward the climax--the 100th birthday celebration of Melchior Hazard's life, when the twins are in their mid-seventies--and the final fifty pages of the novel are as slapstick, ironic, and full of surprises as any comedy ever written. Eventually, the mysteries of their lives and the unanswered questions are resolved, not that Dora cares much. At the age of seventy-five, she believes that "A mother is always a mother, since a mother is a biological fact, whilst a father is a movable feast." Life is to be lived, without wasting a moment, and if the reader has a hard time keeping up with the high-octane action in this novel, then the reader needs to get with Dora's program. One must look, not on the bright side, but at reality. Ultimately, Carter tells us, through Dora, "Comedy is tragedy that happens to OTHER people." Mary Whipple
Though their father may have been a "national treasure," he was also a self-centered and irresponsible hedonist, and Nora and Dora considered the doting Peregrine Hazard, Melchior's twin brother, their true "father." Brought up by their "Grandma" Chance, a "naturist" who claimed to be descended from the Booth family, the twins were surrounded by a bizarre assortment of "relatives," the result of their father's several marriages, which led to additional sets of Hazard twins who also adopted show business careers. As Dora describes her sexual coming-of-age, along with that of Nora, in bawdy and unapologetic language, she simultaneously describes their entry into show business as a song-and-dance team, a career that led to Hollywood.
As Dora's reminiscences continue at a manic pace--always exuberant, confident, and full of high emotion--the family's passion and love for life in all its variety become the real story here. With vibrant dialogue, the novel resembles an off-the-wall play, full of non-stop action, entrances, exits, asides, and even a Dramatis Personae, allowing the reader to keep track of all the characters and their relationships. The changing of partners and the game of "musical beds" keep the romantic aspect of the novel front and center, even as the family's dramatic contributions, some of them more significant than others, are celebrated.
Dora's story races headlong toward the climax--the 100th birthday celebration of Melchior Hazard's life, when the twins are in their mid-seventies--and the final fifty pages of the novel are as slapstick, ironic, and full of surprises as any comedy ever written. Eventually, the mysteries of their lives and the unanswered questions are resolved, not that Dora cares much. At the age of seventy-five, she believes that "A mother is always a mother, since a mother is a biological fact, whilst a father is a movable feast." Life is to be lived, without wasting a moment, and if the reader has a hard time keeping up with the high-octane action in this novel, then the reader needs to get with Dora's program. One must look, not on the bright side, but at reality. Ultimately, Carter tells us, through Dora, "Comedy is tragedy that happens to OTHER people." Mary Whipple
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had to read this book for my A level english lit course. The first time i read it I hated it and couldn't wit until I saw the back of it. But as I had to study it I had to read it a few times first. The second time I read it I fell in love with it and I still read it now and see new things in it I hadn't picked up on before. Wise Children is now like a security blanket for me but I don't think many others from my class would've agreed with me and still think it's dull. So basically I'd say it's not for everyone but give the book a chance and it really does get better the second time around because you pick up on so much more.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Being guided through the lives and times of the Chance sisters is an exhilarating experience. With fabulously three-dimensional characters, witty one-liners and clever links with all things Shakespearean and theatrical this is a definite "must-read". In short, I loved this book.I was asked to analyse the first chapter in an English Literature mock A-level exam and knew from then I just had to read on! There is some exceptional use of imagery and metaphor here which are clear and really brinbg this book to life. Whilst being extremely entertaining, this novel is also strangely tragic - it must be remembered that the auther had terminal cancer whilst writing this book and died two months after it's publication. This is a tragedy to all lovers of a good read as there will be no more pieces produced by this wonderful writer. The mixture of the "glitz and glam" of the showbiz world and the stark realities of being orphaned make for one of the most exciting novels I have read yet.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Funny book
The first and last 30 pages aside (for me, weaker than the rest of the book) I liked the book very much, while it's not a favourite no other book has made me laugh so much, the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by HJ
a comedy?
I struggled my way through this for a book group. Didn't like any of the characters, they were so shallow. Read more
Published 3 months ago by oboechristine
Item received not as described
Book arrived promptly and although classified as "Very Good", disappointed that it's very worn and is an older version than the cover suggested I was buying!
Published 8 months ago by sen154
Wise and funny
An intriguing journey through theatrical life in the twentieth century, viewed from the wrong side of the tracks. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Peter@Proms
Long Live Dora!
I read my first Angela Carter novel last year, The Magic Toyshop, reviewed here (...) and it was such an enjoyable reading experience I fully intended to read Wise Children soon... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Lovely Treez
A marmite book.
a chunky,strange read threaded with complex magic realism and a witty narrator. you'll either love it or hate it.
Published 19 months ago by MissKittyButler
Theatrical Life Exposed
An amusing story of the lives of theatre people narrated by one twin sister Dora Chance. She and her other sister Nora spend a lot of time in the theatrical "gene pool" whilst... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Gerald Turner
very funny book
If you want to read a funny book with a british theater history, get this book... its humour is volgar...
Published on 30 Mar 2010 by Fari
A wise choice
A favourite book from one of my favourite authors. Wise Children is a little different in style from Angela Carter's other novels. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by Oracle
Wise Children - Angela Carter
Angela Carter was an incredible writer and this, one of her last novels, is well worth reading. Set in South London it tells the tail of two old twins reflecting on their life as... Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2009 by Mrs. R. Mullin
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