A Special Providence
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Published:6th Mar '08
Should be back in stock very soon
A moving, ironic and often heart breaking exploration of post-war America by the author of Revolutionary Road
Bobby is eighteen and lost on the battlefields of Europe, stumbling his way through World War II.
Richard Yates's novel is both tender and ironic as he follows Bobby's adventures and disasters and reflects on the intense but complicated bond between mother and son.
Bobby is eighteen and lost on the battlefields of Europe, stumbling his way through World War II. He has turned out to be the heroic soldier he imagined and his experience of battle principally involves fear and confusion. Back home, his mother Alice puts all her hopes in her son, and dreams of his return and starting a new life for them both.
Richard Yates's novel is both tender and ironic as he follows Bobby's adventures and disasters and reflects on the intense but complicated bond between mother and son.
A beautiful book -- Joan Didion
Wonderful -- Andre Dubus
So quotidian, so possible, so plausible, that it is more terrifying to read...than to read of the disasters and massacres of kings * Harper's *
Every good writer I know acknowledges Yates as a master -- Kurt Vonnegut
Yates's trademark blackness does not seem out of place or excessive... the skilful sketches of Prentice's colleagues bring an element of humanity to a sordid and inhumane topic -- Leyla Sanai * www.rocksbackpagesblogs.com *
ISBN: 9780099518631
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 20mm
Weight: 234g
336 pages