Items related to Memoirs of A Public Baby
Synopsis
This memoir by an English surrealist poet astonished the literary world when it was first published in London in 1958. A classic account of O'Connor's tormented life: his father's death; his mother's abandonment; his youth as a vagrant, a madman, a promising but impoverished writer.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Seldom has a writer described his own chaotic boyhood and early manhood with so much self-flagellating mockery. Abandoned by his Irish mother, a "fallen gentlewoman," O'Connor grew up in a seedy hotel, in a brewery, in a cellar, in a French peasant woman's pastry shop. In London, he developed an intense dislike of English snobbery as he ran into "a wall of nervous, persnickety tabus" that stifled social interaction. His contempt for bourgeois values and conformity is reflected in wickedly mordant comments on himself, his friends and acquaintances. Like new suits of clothes, he dons and discards intellectual fashions--surrealism, communism, Nietzsche, D. H. Lawrence. He spends six months in a mental hospital, then has a sexually frustrating affair wth a cultured, unbalanced woman who nearly axes him and is herself hospitalized. We leave him in 1945, "started . . . on a halting road to conformity." Published in Britain in 1958 and only now appearing in the U.S., this prickly, painfully funny autobiography still rings true.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Startlingly original, this autobiography--written in 1958 and now published for the first time in the United States--recounts the early life adventures of a true individualist. O'Connor tells of being abandoned twice by his mother before being adopted by his loving guardian and then quitting school to live the life of a vagrant. Although not as shocking in 1989 as it was 30 years ago, his story is filled with disdain for the bourgeois and a love for the low life. Writing with a poet's imagistic skill, O'Connor conveys the essence of personality and character in simple but insightful phrases. Particularly outstanding are the descriptions of people's faces and physical features, reminding one of Dickens. These memoirs set a new standard for the genre. Recommended for general readers.
- Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherNorton
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0393027635
- ISBN 13 9780393027631
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages229
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 49.46
Shipping:
US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00074994962
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of a Public Baby
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.9. Seller Inventory # G0393027635I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: St Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Eugene, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Hardcover This item shows wear from consistent use but remains in good readable condition. It may have marks on or in it, and may show other signs of previous use or shelf wear. May have minor creases or signs of wear on dust jacket. Packed with care, shipped promptly. Seller Inventory # G-03-3825
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: Visible Voice Books, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. W. W. Norton & Company. Seller Inventory # 147699
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Published by
U.S.A.: WW Norton & Co, 1990
ISBN 10: 0393027635
ISBN 13: 9780393027631
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Dave's Books, Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Oct 1989 hardcover stated 1st American edition 1st printing with full number line. A bit of sunning on cover and soil on edge but essentially in fine condition. Through a binding error, the back board is larger than the front. Blurbs from such prominent writers as Mailer, Bellow, Burroughs, Brodsky, Arthur Miller, Paul Bowles, and Richard Wilbur. Seller Inventory # ABE-18091328959
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 0.9. Seller Inventory # 0393027635-2-3
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: Book Deals, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Shows only minor signs of wear, and very minimal markings inside (if any). 0.9. Seller Inventory # 353-0393027635-vrg
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Book is in Used-Good condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. 0.9. Seller Inventory # 0393027635-2-4
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: Unique Books, Lexington, KY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. b-529 Mark to page bottoms. Seller Inventory # b-599-09
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Memoirs of A Public Baby
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 0.9. Seller Inventory # bk0393027635xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available