Morvern Callar, a low-paid employee in the local supermarket in a desolate and beautiful port town in the west of Scotland, wakes one morning in late December to find her strange boyfriend has committed suicide and is dead on the kitchen floor. Morvern's reaction is both intriguing and immoral. What she does next is even more appalling. Moving across a blurred European landscape-from rural poverty and drunken mayhem of the port to the Mediterranean rave scene-we experience everything from Morvern's stark, unflinching perspective.
Morvern is utterly hypnotizing from her very first sentence to her last. She rarely goes anywhere without the Walkman left behind as a Christmas present by her dead boyfriend, and as she narrates this strange story, she takes care to tell the reader exactly what music she is listening to, giving the stunning effect of a sound track running behind her voice.
In much the same way that Patrick McCabe managed to tell an incredibly rich and haunting story through the eyes of an emotionally disturbed boy in The Butcher Boy, Alan Warner probes the vast internal emptiness of a generation by using the cool, haunting voice of a female narrator lost in the profound anomie of the ecstasy generation. Morvern is a brilliant creation, not so much memorable as utterly unforgettable."
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Alan Warner's Morvern Callar may be the first novel that deserves its own soundtrack. The music Warner's title character listens to as she drifts aimlessly through her sterile life may be the most worthwhile part of this depressing novel. Following in the footsteps of Trainspotting, another Scottish tale of anomie in the Highlands, Morvern Callar chronicles Morvern's dead-end existence--a joyless round of sex and raves punctuated by the music playing through her portable stereo.
Warner tells this dreary story from Morvern's point of view in a voice that is flat and affectless, as if the girl's soul had died years before though her body continues to function. Morvern Callar is a strange mix of shocking and banal, a mélange with appeal for a very specialized audience.
Morvern Callar, a low-paid employee in the local supermarket of a desolate and beautiful port town in the west of Scotland, wakes one morning in late December to find that her boyfriend has committed suicide and is lying dead on the kitchen floor. Morvern's reaction is both intriguing and immoral, and what she does next is appalling. Moving across a blurred European landscape - from the rural poverty and drunken mayhem of the Scottish port to the Mediterranean rave scene - we experience everything from Morvern's stark, unflinching perspective. She rarely goes anywhere without the Walkman left behind as a Christmas present by her dead boyfriend, and as she narrates this strange story, she takes care to tell the reader exactly what music she is listening to, creating the stunning effect of a soundtrack running behind her voice throughout the novel. Alan Warner probes the vast internal emptiness of a generation by using the cool, haunting voice of a female narrator lost in the profound anomie of the rave scene. Hers is a chilling, hardcore perspective, entirely different from the cliched whiny angst of Generation X.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR003015958
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. He'd cut his throat with the knife. He'd near chopped off his hand with the meat cleaver. ' It is off-season in a remote Highland sea-port- twenty-one year old Morvern Callar, a low-paid employee in the local supermarket, wakes one morning to find her strange boyfriend has committed suicide and is dead on their kitchen floor. Morvern's laconic reaction is both intriguing and immoral. What she does next is even more appalling. . . Brutal, erotic, jarringly poetic and rich in a blood-dark humour, MORVERN CALLAR is a powerful debut novel from a new Scottish writer. In this novel with a young female narrator, Alan Warner shifts the focus away from the female-dominated urban realism of much contemporary Scottish fiction towards a new and disquieting hyper-realism set in the Highlands and hallucinatory Spanish resorts. MORVERN CALLAR is a novel for which it would be hard to find comparisons; it marks the arrival of an extraordinary new writer. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR003116096
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_347842937
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Morvern Callar This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780224040112
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Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780224040112
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Condition: Good. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 48743719-20
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Seller: Blaeberry Books, Lilliesleaf, United Kingdom
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Signed by Alan Warner to the title page. A very good+ copy of a first edition, first impression paperback original (creasing to spine; usual page tanning) All books are swathed in biodegradable bubble wrap and posted in strong, custom made book boxes to ensure undamaged delivery. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 008762
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Seller: Fireproof Books, MINNETONKA, MN, U.S.A.
Soft cover. Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 229 pages. First edition, first printing. His 1st book, a paperback original. Cover design by Chris Shamwana. This book a Somerset Maugham Award. It was made into a Lynne Ramsey film in 2002. Fine book in wrappers. A beautiful copy!. Seller Inventory # 40338274328
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Seller: BooksandRecords, IOBA, Tilshead, WILTS, United Kingdom
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Fifth print paperback. Light general wear. Signed and dated to a previous owner by Warner on the title page. Twenty-one-year-old Morver Callar, a low-paid supermarket employee, wakes one morning to find her strange boyfriend has committed suicide and is lying on their kitchen floor. Morvern's laconic reaction is both intriguing and immoral. What she does next is even more appalling. ***** Free shipping available to UK buyers. For customers located outside the UK, if the actual cost of shipping your order is lower than the price paid, then a refund of the difference will be issued. Inscribed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # 5181
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Seller: Roy Turner Books, Stockport, United Kingdom
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. First edition, 1995. Signed by author to title page. Paperback. VG.Published: Jonathan Cape, 1995. Seller Inventory # 3581
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