The Rehearsal
A provocative exploration of teenage life and performance
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Granta Books
Published:4th Mar '10
Should be back in stock very soon
A high-school scandal transforms teenage girls' perceptions of power and identity in The Rehearsal, blending reality with performance art.
In The Rehearsal, Eleanor Catton explores the complexities of teenage life through the lens of a high-school sex scandal that shakes a group of girls to their core. This event serves as a catalyst for their awakening, prompting them to confront their own identities and the power dynamics at play in their lives. The narrative cleverly intertwines the personal and the performative, blurring the lines between reality and theater as the girls navigate their newfound awareness.
The local drama school’s decision to adapt the scandal into a theatrical production adds another layer of intrigue to the story. As the girls become unwilling participants in this performance, they grapple with the implications of their experiences being transformed into art. The boundaries of privacy and public persona begin to dissolve, leading to a poignant examination of how society perceives and judges young women.
The Rehearsal is not just a tale of scandal; it is a thoughtful and provocative exploration of desire, power, and the messiness of human emotions. Catton's debut is both a tender portrayal of her characters and a critical commentary on the emotional compromises they face. With its smart, playful prose, this novel invites readers to reflect on the nature of performance in their own lives.
The book is sensational -- Bill Nighy
As debuts go, this one is astral - as well as teasing, intelligent and knowing ... Catton anatomizes brilliantly the psychology of youth, its sexual mores, it's posing pretentiousness, its worries, its bravado ... So much accomplishment carried so lightly * Scotsman *
It represents a starburst of talent and the arrival of an author wholly different from anyone else writing today * Sunday Times *
A supremely confident piece of writing ... the clarity of its thought and language make it a definite contender for debut of the year * Independent *
Brilliant ... What Catton does so strikingly, and in such honeyed prose, is to capture the essence of adolescents ... Catton has formidable talent * Daily Mail *
Time-frames overlap and collide in this ingenious ontological kaleidoscope of a debut, but the experimentalism - which demands that the reader keep all her wits about her - is tempered by a real knack for narrative and a cast of painfully familiar teenage characters who are all desperate to be as confident, cool, charismatic and funny as possible. These are qualities that the extraordinary Eleanor Catton has in spades * The Times *
2009's most exciting new voice * Guardian Review *
This astonishing debut novel from young New Zealander Eleanor Catton is a cause for surprise and celebration: smart, playful and self-possessed, it has the glitter and mystery of the true literary original * Guardian *
- Winner of Betty Trask Award.
- Winner of New Zealand Society of Authors Best First Book Awards: Hubert Church Award for Fiction.
- Short-listed for Guardian First Book Award.
- Short-listed for Montana New Zealand Book Awards: Fiction Category.
- Short-listed for Dylan Tomas Prize 2010 (UK)
ISBN: 9781847081391
Dimensions: 198mm x 129mm x 19mm
Weight: 226g
320 pages