October
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is indicative only and does not represent the condition of this copy. For information about the condition of this book you can email us.
From the author of the bestselling Adultery ... A haunting coming-of-age story set in World War II Quebec and a contemporary portrait of a man still searching for answers ... In England to see his daughter, Susan, who is gravely ill, James Hillyer, a retired professor of Victorian literature, encounters by chance a man he once knew as a boy. Gabriel Fontaine, a rich and attractive American he met one summer holiday during the war, is a mercurial figure, badly crippled by polio. As an adolescent, James was both attracted to and repelled by Gabriel's cocksure attitude and charm. He also fell hopelessly in love with Odette, a French-Canadian girl from the village, only to find himself in competition with the careless Gabriel. Now, at this random meeting over six decades later - as he struggles with the terrible possibility that he could outlive his own daughter - James is asked by Gabriel to accompany him on a final, unthinkable journey. At last, James begins to see that all beginnings and endings are inexorably linked. 'a compact, spare masterpiece ... October has the haunting beauty of a chamber piece, played with the softest of touches, every note perfect' Edmonton Journal 'October is a gently persuasive novel, solidly grounded in human observation, propelled by character, imbued with wisdom' Montreal Gazette 'wonderfully subtle ... inexpressibly precious' the Globe and Mail
Author: Richard B Wright
Format: Paperback, 304 pages, 138mm x 209mm, 322 g
Published: 2008, HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd, Australia
Genre: General & Literary Fiction
Description
From the author of the bestselling Adultery ... A haunting coming-of-age story set in World War II Quebec and a contemporary portrait of a man still searching for answers ... In England to see his daughter, Susan, who is gravely ill, James Hillyer, a retired professor of Victorian literature, encounters by chance a man he once knew as a boy. Gabriel Fontaine, a rich and attractive American he met one summer holiday during the war, is a mercurial figure, badly crippled by polio. As an adolescent, James was both attracted to and repelled by Gabriel's cocksure attitude and charm. He also fell hopelessly in love with Odette, a French-Canadian girl from the village, only to find himself in competition with the careless Gabriel. Now, at this random meeting over six decades later - as he struggles with the terrible possibility that he could outlive his own daughter - James is asked by Gabriel to accompany him on a final, unthinkable journey. At last, James begins to see that all beginnings and endings are inexorably linked. 'a compact, spare masterpiece ... October has the haunting beauty of a chamber piece, played with the softest of touches, every note perfect' Edmonton Journal 'October is a gently persuasive novel, solidly grounded in human observation, propelled by character, imbued with wisdom' Montreal Gazette 'wonderfully subtle ... inexpressibly precious' the Globe and Mail
October