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Synopsis
An inexplicable message flashed onto the screen of his Apple II computer at 3 a.m. heralds the beginning of a startling quest for frustrated author Herman Orff. Taking up the offer of a cure for writer's block leads him 'to those places in your head that you can't get to on your own' - and plunges him into a semi-dreamland inhabited by a bizarre combination of characters from myth and reality: the talking head of Orpheus; a lost love; the young girl of Vermeer's famous portrait - and a frequency of Medusas.
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About the Author
Russell Hoban is the author of many extraordinary novels including TURTLE DIARY, THE LION OF BOAZ-JACHIN AND JACHIN-BOAZ, KLEINZEIT, PILGERMANN, ANGELICA'S GROTTO and AMARYLLIS NIGHT AND DAY, all available from Bloomsbury. He has also written some classic books for children including THE MOUSE AND HIS CHILD and THE FRANCES books. He lives in London.
From Publishers Weekly
Again demonstrating the versatility and creative energy exhibited in Riddley Walker and Pilgermann, in this slim novel Hoban deals with existential questions: the mystery of existence, the nature of reality, the role of art. Combining satire and fantasy, and in poetic, Joycean language mixed with the vernacular, this narrative rewards the discerning reader. Herman Orff, a failed novelist who supports himself by doing cartoons for Classic Comics, is accosted by the blind head of Orpheus, his progenitor, "the first of your line." Through a series of metaphysical communications that lead to an odyssey through London and Amsterdam, Orff is gradually given to understand the connection between the women in his life: his lost love Luise von Himmelbett (symbolizing Eurydice); the nubile and very available Melanie Falsepercy (symbolizing Persephone); the print of Vermeer's Head of a Young Girl that hangs above his desk and haunts his imagination; and the head of Medusa in a painting by the Dutch master Frans Post: all represent "femaleness." Spare and witty, full of metaphorical, mythical and mystical allusions, the narrative sings with insights. At the same time whimsical, farcical (an advertising agency is called Slithe and Tovey) and deadly serious, it brilliantly relates the tragic ancient myths to the commonplace tragedies of modern life in a violent, dislocated age.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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- PublisherJ. Cape
- Publication date1987
- ISBN 10 0224024647
- ISBN 13 9780224024648
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages143
- Rating
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The Medusa Frequency
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The Medusa Frequency
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The Medusa Frequency
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ISBN 10: 0224024647
ISBN 13: 9780224024648
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The Medusa Frequency.
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0224024647
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The Medusa Frequency
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224024647
ISBN 13: 9780224024648
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The Medusa Frequency
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. N/A (illustrator). 1987. Jonathan Cape, London, 1987. Hard cover. Book condition : Very good, very clean text, appears little read. Top of pages spotted. Jacket covered in clear plastic. Book will be sent by Uk postal service. Bookseller Inventory #010504. N/A. Seller Inventory # 010504
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The Medusa Frequency
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224024647
ISBN 13: 9780224024648
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First Edition
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The Medusa Frequency
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THE MEDUSA FREQUENCY
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The Medusa Frequency (UK HB 1st - SIGNED)
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0224024647
ISBN 13: 9780224024648
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. UK hardback first impression. SIGNED at title page with 1987 date and a dedication. VG with slight knock to one corner, in VG clipped jacket. Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # ABE-1716816907157
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