Set in Canada, Germany, Korea, and the Soviet Union, Visible Worlds begins in 1960, with the death of Nate Bone on a Winnipeg football field, as his family and friends stand by and watch. The story then shifts to the tundra of Siberia, where, at the same time, a young woman identified only as Fika is trying to make her way from the Soviet Union to freedom. As the novel unfolds, these two seemingly unrelated events--literally worlds apart--become key pieces in Bowering's astonishing fictional puzzle.
That puzzle is assembled by Albrecht Storr, one of twin sons of German immigrants, who becomes the primary narrator of the novel. Looking back to 1935, when he, his brother Gerhard, and Nate were children together, Albrecht slowly recounts a chain of extraordinary events set off when Nate, still suffering from the death of his sister, kidnaps an infant girl. That reckless, long undetected act leaves few lives unaffected, and will lead, a quarter of a century later, to Fika's remarkable journey across the spare, life-threatening, yet inconceivably beautiful frozen landscape.
A cast of singular and highly memorable characters play out the drama of Visible Worlds. Albrecht's mother is a proud German whose devotion to what she views as the superior culture of the Fatherland has tragic consequences. His eccentric father believes in the literal power of human magnetism. Nate's mother, a once-beautiful bareback rider, plunges into insanity, while her philandering husband runs off with a tiger trainer for the circus. Seen through the prism of these characters' lives, the public horrors of this century come to reflect a personal legacy of abandonment, betrayal, and collective guilt.
A masterful, highly imaginative storyteller, Marilyn Bowering has infused her fiction with a lyrical magic and haunting emotional resonance.
"In Visible Worlds, Marilyn Bowering stretches a net of precise and capacious language across decades, continents, history, and landscapes, then gradually tightens it until her quarry stands revealed: the conjunctions of will and chance of which human fates are made. And always hovering are the magnetic lines of the heart--which burst forth sometimes in speed or deed, sometimes in celestial displays, always in the abiding mystery of connection."
--Jane Hirshfield
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 4.99
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First American Edition. BH6 - A tight, clean, sound copy with very minor overall shelf wear plus there are the usual library stamps and pocket on the top outside paper edges, front and back endpapers, and title page plus the dust jacket endflaps are glued down to the inside surfaces of the boards. The dust jacket shows only very minor overall shelf wear plus it is still in the original library mylar sleeve plus the endflaps are glued down to the inside surfaces of the boards. A novel set in the middle part of the 20th century including World War II and the Korean War. It is about twin sons of German immigrants to Canada and the extraordinary events set off when one of them, suffering after the death of a sister, kidnaps an infant girl. By the author of "To All Appearances a Lady." 294p. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Ex-Library. Seller Inventory # SCW06251
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. RELIABLE library withdrawal with a dust jacket in the plastic, protective cover. Stamped at the page edge with a card pocket page on the inside. The card pocket has been removed by the library leaving a mark. Light scuff to the plastic cover. This edition is PRESENTABLE!. Seller Inventory # HCLibDec5VI79
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. Seller Inventory # 180454
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # SONG0060191481
Book Description Hard Cover. Condition: Fine/Fine. First Edition. Octavo, 8 1/2" tall, 294 pages, black quarter cloth with gilt title on spine; with the publisher's review slips laid in. A fine, clean, hard cover first edition with slight shelf wear, hinges and binding tight, paper cream white. In a fine, clean, lightly rubbed dust jacket, with original price. Seller Inventory # 189
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Review copy with photo and publisher's information laid in. Author's second novel. F/F; 8vo. Seller Inventory # 91211
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First American Edition. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 23362
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition, First Print. 0060191481 First edition, First printing. Not inscribed clipped or otherwise marked. Shipped in a box. Complete # line 10987654321. F/F. Seller Inventory # 000029
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Used - very good. Seller Inventory # 49623
Book Description hardcover. Condition: Like New. Hardcover. First Edition / First Printing. Near fine / near fine Mylar-protected dust jacket. For any additional information or pictures, please inquire. Seller Inventory # 230102040