The Gates of Ivory - Softcover

Drabble, Margaret

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140167196 ISBN 13: 9780140167191

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1993

Synopsis

Liz Headleand receives a package from an old friend containing writing, drawings, and what appear to be finger bones, and soon she is on an adventure, determined to discover what her friend is trying to tell her. Reprint.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

The Gates of Ivory is a vibrant, mesmerizing novel that juxtaposes the cynical, sophisticated realm of London against the dreaded world of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot?s Cambodia. In London, psychiatrist Liz Headleand receives an unexpected package, containing, among other things, a laundry bill from a hotel in Bangkok, old newspaper clippings, and two human finger bones. She recognizes the handwriting as that of Stephen Cox, who has been travelling in the Far East. With the help of her friends, Liz goes in search of the man who might once have been her lover, and gradually we learn of Stephen?s difficult pilgrimage, from Thailand to Vietnam and, finally, Cambodia. Disturbing, wryly humorous, and deeply affecting, The Gates of Ivory brings two very different worlds into uneasy proximity, and the result is potent.

From the Back Cover:

“Read this book.…A tour de force…For those of us who believe fiction can offer a reality and truth beyond that of non-fiction, this novel is not to be missed.”
– Calgary Herald

“Artfully constructed and at times mordantly funny.”
– Vanity Fair

“Piquant characterization, wonderful dialogue and brainy, skillful writing.…”
– Globe and Mail

“Unputdownable.…A sojourn within The Gates of Ivory is not something one soon forgets.”
Edmonton Journal

“Irresistible, thought-provoking.…Compelling.”
–Saskatoon StarPhoenix

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0140167196
• ISBN 13: 9780140167191
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 480