House Mother Normal

A Geriatric Comedy

B S Johnson author Andrew Motion editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Pan Macmillan

Published:14th Feb '13

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

House Mother Normal cover

'A remarkable achievement' New York Times

An hilarious and deep-feeling portrayal of what it means to live and what it means to grow old.

With an introduction by poet Andrew Motion.

Eight residents in a home for the elderly sit down to dinner, along with the House Mother herself, and each takes it in turn to relay the proceedings of the evening from their own, individual perspective. By virtue of the novel’s clever structure, the reader’s comprehension of events is limited so as to allow them a powerful experience: Johnson’s humorous yet deeply compassionate depiction of what it means to live life and grow old.

In his heyday, during the 1960s and early 1970s, B. S. Johnson was one of the best-known novelists in Britain. A passionate advocate for the avant-garde, he became famous for his forthright views on the future of the novel and for his unique ways of putting them into practice. House Mother Normal: A Geriatric Comedy is Johnson’s most richly characterized, humane and sympathetic work.

Never sentimental, at once corrosive and elegiac, House Mother Normal is a remarkable achievement * New York Times *
Don’t think that because Johnson took stylistic risks that he must be unapproachable -- Guardian

ISBN: 9781447200383

Dimensions: 196mm x 131mm x 14mm

Weight: 162g

224 pages