Imprint
- Virago
- Virago
Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
An exciting new novel from a major voice in American literature - exploring artists in exile, dangerous relationships and the demands of creativity.
A FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
'A fascinating meditation on Black female creativity from the author of Corregidora and Palmares . . . Vivid characters shimmer through the pages' Suzi Feay, GUARDIAN
'I am living on the white-washed island of Ibiza with my friend Catherine Shuger, a sculptor who has been declared legally insane, and her husband, Ernest. Standing on the terrace, sheltered in the smell of oranges and eucalyptus, washed in sunlight, you'd swear this was a paradise. But to tell the truth the place is full of dangers. You see, Catherine sometimes tries to kill her husband. It has been this way for years . . . My name's Amanda Wordlaw. Wonderful name for a writer, isn't it? . . . I guess I'm sort of a choice companion for the Shugers - professional watcher and listener that I am. It's like they need someone else to witness the shit, the spectacle they make of themselves.'
'Gayl Jones constructs a novel that is part mystery, part thriller, and wholly captivating . . . Jones is an outstanding writer . . . A shining segment of the American literary canon has been restored' Kate Webb, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
'With the plush scenery of a travelogue, the misshapen soul of a noir and the anarchic spirit of a trickster tale, this novel revolves around three Black American expatriates . . . Catherine is suspicious of Amanda's intentions toward her husband, but, in Jones's fearsome, fractured narrative, her potential for violence seems no more alarming than anything else that might befall these social outsiders' NEW YORKER (Best books of 2022)
Praise for The Birdcatcher: FINALIST FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
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Gayl Jones is a literary legend . . . She has reimagined the lives of Black women across North, South and Central America . . . in a way no other writer has done - Guardian
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Gayl Jones's work represents a watershed in American literature. From a literary standpoint, her form is impeccable; from a historical standpoint, she stands at the very cutting edge of understanding the modern world, and as a Black woman writer, her truth-telling, filled with beauty, tragedy, humour, and incisiveness, is unmatched. Jones is a writer's writer, and her influence is found everywhere
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Gayl Jones constructs a novel that is part mystery, part thriller, and wholly captivating . . . a shining segment of the American literary canon has been restored - Times Literary Supplement
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A literary giant, and one of my absolute favourite writers
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After suffering the author's absence for far too long, we can rejoice at her return - New York Times
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With the plush scenery of a travelogue, the misshapen soul of a noir, and the anarchic spirit of a trickster tale, this novel revolves around three Black American expatriates. The narrator, Amanda, is a divorced travel writer invited to the island of Ibiza by her friend Catherine, a prize-winning sculptor, who "sometimes tries to kill her husband." Catherine is suspicious of Amanda's intentions toward her husband, but, in Jones's fearsome, fractured narrative, her potential for violence seems no more alarming than anything else that might befall these social outsiders - The New Yorker (Best books of 2022)
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A literary giant, and one of my favourite writers
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This is a brilliant and unsparing examination of the burdens we place on friendship and marriage, the way that creative genius is misperceived as madness, the clumsy way mental health is addressed, the scourge of racism, and the alchemy of folklore and legacy bound in the secrets we hide - Boston Globe
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