A lugubrious but moving account of a disturbed young woman's
troubled childhood and adolescence, by New Orleans second-novelist
Friedmann (The Exact Image of Mother, 1991). Eleanor Rushing, like
most orphans, suffers from a profound inner solitude that she has
carried well into adulthood. "In case you don't know it already,
there is nothing worse than being a captive audience to dead
silence." Eleanor's parents were killed in an airplane crash when
she was ten, and she was brought up in New Orleans by Poppy (her
grandfather) and Naomi (Poppy's black housekeeper). Poppy is the
silent type, as grim as cast iron and talkative as a post - which
may be just as well, since when she learns of her parents' death
Eleanor is struck dumb and doesn't speak a word for the next four
years. Her silence, though, may also be the result of a molestation
by Naomi, who broke the news to Eleanor at her summer camp and then
drove her home to Louisiana. Certainly it seems more than
coincidental that Eleanor regains her speech at 14, the year she's
raped by a Tulane frat-boy. Given her catalogue of traumas, it
isn't surprising that Eleanor should eventually fall in love with
Methodist preacher Maxim Walters. After following him to a
convention in Nashville and starting an affair, she tries to
convince him to leave his plain wife and start over with her. But
Maxim worries about his reputation and even goes so far later as to
request a restraining order to keep Eleanor away from him. The
court that investigates Maxim's complaint finds not only that she
and Maxim were never lovers, but that Eleanor's parents never died
in any plane crash. Is Eleanor insane? Or merely deluded? The
boundary between reality and fantasy can be elusive, especially
when clouded by a succession of griefs. Depressing overall, but
curiously affecting: Friedmann writes with a sensitivity that can
touch the heart without falling prey to the sentimental. (Kirkus
Reviews)
A zany, disturbing novel set amid the splendors and excesses of New
Orleans.. Eleanor Rushing is a first-person narrative tour de
force. While Eleanor is blessed with acute powers of observation
and the ability to remember everything, her recollections and
impressions are nevertheless often at odds with those of the people
around her. As her "relationship" with a local married Methodist
minister spins out of control, the loquacious and endearing Eleanor
manages to charm us completely. Even as we begin to realize that
surviving a childhood marred by tragedy has exacted a terrible
toll, we can't help being her willing and faithful admirers.
General
Imprint: |
Counterpoint
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
March 2000 |
First published: |
April 2000 |
Authors: |
Patty Friedmann
|
Dimensions: |
203 x 127 x 20mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
288 |
Edition: |
New edition |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-58243-077-5 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
1-58243-077-2 |
Barcode: |
9781582430775 |
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