Confessions of a Falling Woman
A collection of short stories from the acclaimed author of The Madonnas of Leningrad
This collection of short stories by Debra Dean, author of critically acclaimed novel ‘The Madonnas of Leningrad’, explores turning points in lives on the brink of change.
Each of the characters she brings to vivid life in these pages is either facing up to, or coming to terms with, a significant moment in their lives – from the prodigal daughter returning home for an intervention with her domineering alcoholic mother, to a woman unexpectedly rediscovering love with her ex-husband. In writing that is by turns sharply observed and delicately nuanced, Dean brings into focus shifting spectrum of human emotions. Yet there is nothing sensational about these stories – rather they centre on the quiet moments when reflection gives way to moments of truth: like the narrator in ‘Confessions of a Falling Woman’, writing to her ex-husband years after their separation in order to lay to rest the tragic death of their daughter and set the record straight as she faces up to an illness of her own; or the best man at a wedding letting go of the lingering feelings he harboured for a previous life. Among these poignant vignettes, there are also flashes of humour. ‘What the Left Hand Is Saying’ is a caustic tale of a group of housemates who are brought together – and ultimately betrayed – by a visitor who enchants them with a Pied Piper-like charm, while ‘The Afterlife of Lyle Stone’ is a darkly comic tale of one man’s nervous breakdown.
Praise for ‘The Madonnas of Leningrad’: -
”'A luminescent debut…This is a novel that dares to be beautiful and fully succeeds.” - Daily Mail
”'A breathtaking novel. [Dean] has brought the siege of Leningrad to dramatic, desperate life.” - Guardian
”'An unforgettable story of love, survival and the power of imagination in the most tragic circumstances. Elegant and poetic, the rare kind of book that you want to keep but you have to share.” - Isabel Allende
”''The Madonnas of Leningrad' is an extraordinary debut, a deeply lovely novel that evokes with uncommon deftness the terrible, heartbreaking beauty that is life in wartime. Like the glorious ghosts of the paintings in the Hermitage that lie at the heart of the story, Dean’s exquisite prose shimmers with a haunting glow, illuminating us to the notion that art itself is perhaps our most necessary nourishment. A superbly graceful novel.” - Chang-Rae Lee, New York Times Bestselling author of 'Aloft’
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