Imprint
- Sceptre
- Sceptre
Fiction, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
A bittersweet tale of grief and renewal - the exhilarating debut of an exceptionally gifted young writer
Hollis Clayton is in trouble. Still haunted by his small son's death, stalled in his writing career and over fond of the bottle, he finds himself abandoned by his wife for the summer - or, if he doesn't shape up, for good. But without his emotional anchor, Hollis continues to unravel. Besides, he's busy spying on the neighbours and sharing his meals with a stray dog. When is he going to find the time to get his life back on track
Here, in the daily rhythms of Hollis's disintegrating life, lies an evisceratingly comic portrait of suburban despair. With this deeply affecting tale of grief and renewal, Elizabeth H. Winthrop makes a striking debut.
More books by Elizabeth H. Winthrop
Praise for Fireworks
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Winthrop sketches her hapless hero with uncommon charm...As his summer slips by, both he and the reader learn to appreciate anew the 'non-stories' that make up life. - Observer
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Winthrop proves to be a bitingly intelligent writer who infuses otherwise unremarkable moments with bittersweet pathos. - New York Times Book Review
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Combining a light comic touch with a compellingly honest portrayal of her flawed, yet loveable, protagonist, Winthrop has produced a work of psychological acuity and gentle absolution. - Myslexia
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With delicate pathos, Elizabeth Winthrop's debut novel conveys how Hollis's life unravels in tiny increments of despair - Metro
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A multi-layered tale of life, death and the grey pain of grief. And yet, it is not depressing or pitiful ... [Winthrop's] novel, though slow burning, still manages to be explosive - Irish Examiner
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Every fragment is so carefully collected and shown to us by Elizabeth Winthrop, not a mawkish sentence anywhere - Margaret Forster
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A lovely, touching novel: intelligent, wry, at once lush and spare - Andrew Solomon, author of THE NOONDAY DEMON
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Hollis keeps me on the edge of my seat. He's not like any character I've met...He breaks my heart. - Geoffrey Wolff
Elizabeth H. Winthrop
Elizabeth H. Winthrop was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from Harvard University in 2001 with a BA in English and American Literature and Language, and in 2004 she received her Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the University of California at Irvine. Her stories have appeared in a variety of publications including the Missouri Review and the Indiana Review. Fireworks, her first novel, was published by Sceptre in 2006, her second, December, was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for 2009, she pulished her third novel, The Why of Things, in 2013. The Mercy Seat is her most recent work, published by Sceptre. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter and St. Bernard, and is Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing at Endicott College.
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