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Robert Goolrick The End of the World as We Know It (Paperback) (UK IMPORT)

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Item specifics

Condition
Brand New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
Book Title
End of the World As We Know It : Scenes from Alife
Publication Name
The End of the World as We Know It
Title
The End of the World as We Know It
Subtitle
Scenes from a Life
Author
Robert Goolrick
Format
Trade Paperback
ISBN-10
1565126025
EAN
9781565126022
ISBN
9781565126022
Publisher
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Genre
Family & Relationships, Biography & Autobiography, Psychology
Release Date
15/04/2008
Release Year
2008
Language
English
Country/Region of Manufacture
US
Item Height
0.6in
Item Length
8.2in
Item Width
5.5in
Item Weight
8 Oz
Publication Year
2008
Topic
Abuse / General, Personal Memoirs, General, Dysfunctional Families, Interpersonal Relations
Number of Pages
227 Pages

About this product

Product Information

It was the 1950s, a time of calm, a time when all things were new and everything seemed possible. A few years before, a noble war had been won, and now life had returned to normal. For one little boy, however, life had become anything but "normal." To all appearances, he and his family lived an almost idyllic life. The father was a respected professor, the mother a witty and elegant lady, someone everyone loved. They were parents to three bright, smiling children: two boys and a girl. They lived on a sunny street in a small college town nestled neatly in a leafy valley. They gave parties, hosted picnics, went to church-just like their neighbors. To all appearances, their life seemed ideal. But it was, in fact, all appearances. Lineage, tradition, making the right impression-these were matters of great importance, especially to the mother. But behind the facade this family had created lurked secrets so dark, so painful for this one little boy, that his life would never be the same. It is through the eyes of that boy-a grown man now, revisiting that time-that we see this seemingly serene world and watch as it slowly comes completely and irrevocably undone. Beautifully written, often humorous, sometimes sweet, ultimately shocking, this is a son's story of looking back with both love and anger at the parents who gave him life and then robbed him of it, who created his world and then destroyed it. As author Lee Smith, who knew this world and this family, observed, "Alcohol may be the real villain in this pain-permeated, exquisitely written memoir of childhood-but it is also filled with absolutely dead-on social commentary of this very particular time and place. A brave, haunting, riveting book."

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
ISBN-10
1565126025
ISBN-13
9781565126022
eBay Product ID (ePID)
63077932

Product Key Features

Book Title
End of the World As We Know It : Scenes from Alife
Author
Robert Goolrick
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Topic
Abuse / General, Personal Memoirs, General, Dysfunctional Families, Interpersonal Relations
Publication Year
2008
Genre
Family & Relationships, Biography & Autobiography, Psychology
Number of Pages
227 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
8.2in
Item Height
0.6in
Item Width
5.5in
Item Weight
8 Oz

Additional Product Features

Reviews
A gifted writer['s]...memorable account of his terribly flawed family....Searing....It stays with you., ""Captivating..."The End of the World as We Know It" is barbed and canny, with a sharp eye for the infliction of pain."", "A gifted writer['s]...memorable account of his terribly flawed family. ...Searing...It stays with you."--USA Today, "Goolrick adeptly uses a slow, teasing way of revealing himself to the reader...Anecdotes of captivating vitality...."The End of the World As We Know It" is barbed and canny, with a sharp eye for the infliction of pain."--"The New York Times", A devastating debut...Worthy of William STyron and Flannery O'Connor....Gripping and emotionally insightful., "A devastating debut memoir about a Southern childhood. A simple summary of the storyline of this memoir might inspire an eye-roll: Do we really need another tale about someone growing up in a South of days-gone-by, surrounded by eccentric relatives and neighbors, with a little alcoholism and incest thrown in for good measure? But Goolrick takes that tired scenario and makes it magical. He recounts a Virginia childhood worthy of William Styron and Flannery O'Connor. The deformed weirdos, a staple of Southern grotesque, are here, including severely retarded aunt Dodo, who one day asked young Robert to kiss her passionately. Here, too, are cocktail parties that would have inspired Douglas Sirk: Goolrick describes the lavish fetes his parents threw, the lovely chiffon dresses his mother wore. But something was off-kilter, at even the grandest parties. The chiffon dresses always wound up with cigarette burns, and the hectic entertaining was artifice and pretense, a frantic effort to cover up alcoholism and other, more hideous, family secrets. The author interweaves scenes from his childhood with scenes from his adult life: his mother's attempt to get dry, his own breakdown and drinking problem, his mother's death. One of the most gripping and emotionally insightful passages is of his father's funeral, where Goolrick makes clear how hard it is to bury a man you haven't forgiven. The language is lush and poetic while never becoming purple. Goolrick is clearly a victim of his parents' brutal abuse, but he has broken out of the categories of 'victim' and 'survivor' to become a powerful truth-teller." --"Kirkus Reviews," starred review, A devastating debut memoir about a Southern childhood. A simple summary of the storyline of this memoir might inspire an eye-roll: Do we really need another tale about someone growing up in a South of days-gone-by, surrounded by eccentric relatives and neighbors, with a little alcoholism and incest thrown in for good measure? But Goolrick takes that tired scenario and makes it magical. He recounts a Virginia childhood worthy of William Styron and Flannery O'Connor. The deformed weirdos, a staple of Southern grotesque, are here, including severely retarded aunt Dodo, who one day asked young Robert to kiss her passionately.  Here, too, are cocktail parties that would have inspired Douglas Sirk: Goolrick describes the lavish fetes his parents threw, the lovely chiffon dresses his mother wore.  But something was off-kilter, at even the grandest parties.  The chiffon dresses always wound up with cigarette burns, and the hectic entertaining was artifice and pretense, a frantic effort to cover up alcoholism and other, more hideous, family secrets.  The author interweaves scenes from his childhood with scenes from his adult life: his mother's attempt to get dry, his own breakdown and drinking problem, his mother's death. One of the most gripping and emotionally insightful passages is of his father's funeral, where Goolrick makes clear how hard it is to bury a man you haven't forgiven. The language is lush and poetic while never becoming purple. Goolrick is clearly a victim of his parents' brutal abuse, but he has broken out of the categories of 'victim' and 'survivor' to become a powerful truth-teller.
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Fast shipping and the discs arrived in great condition, highly recommended!
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The book arrived before time and it is as described. I can't wait to read it and learn something new!