Awake - Hardcover

Graver, Elizabeth

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805065393 ISBN 13: 9780805065398

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 2004

Synopsis

A mother seeks freedom for her young son—and rediscovers her own need for it in the process—in this powerful novel about family, identity, and love

Once a painter, a traveler, a lover of light, Anna Simon has been living in the dark ever since she gave birth to Max, a child with a rare genetic disease for whom even an hour in sunlight could prove fatal. For years, Anna has home schooled Max and structured her life around his, despite the fact that her husband, Ian, favors mainstreaming. When Anna learns of a camp in upstate New York for children with the disease, she sees room for a compromise—a sanctuary for Max, a place where he can interact with other children and be both safe and free.

And so the summer that Max is nine, the family heads off to Camp Luna. At first, it seems like the answer to their problems. But as Anna is drawn into life there and gets to know Hal, the camp’s charismatic founder, freedom and safety prove to be complicated things. What begins as a novel about a mother with a sick child quickly becomes an intricate examination of one woman’s identity as Anna—given sudden breathing room—looks around at her life and finds that she has lost track of essential pieces of herself. What, exactly, are safety and freedom? And at what cost—to one’s self and the people in one’s life—should they be protected and pursued?

Beautifully written, emotionally wrenching, Awake showcases the strengths of Elizabeth Graver’s acclaimed previous novel, The Honey Thief, the focus shifting from childhood to adulthood, to limn the passions and intricacies of a woman’s mind and heart.

About this title

About the Author

Elizabeth Graver is the author of Unravelling and The Honey Thief, both of which were New York Times Notable Books. Her work has been included in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays, as well as in Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards. She lives in Massachusetts and teaches at Boston College.

From the Inside Flap

"Graver has a remarkable, Tolstoyan handle on how minds and memories work: the waterfalls of desire and irrationality, the dream logic of inner monologues . . . . Would that there were more than just one Elizabeth Graver."-Robert Lalasz, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In Elizabeth Graver s first novel, Unravelling, she explored the life of a 19th-century New England Mill girl who carves out a life for herself on the margins of society. In her second, The Honey Thief, Graver imagined her way into the lives of a contemporary mother and daughter trying to make sense of loss. Now, in her third and most ambitious novel, Graver turns to the story of a mother who, in seeking freedom for her young son, rediscovers her own need for it. The result is a powerful, unforgettable story of family, identity, and love.

Once a painter, a traveler, a lover of light, Anna Simon has been living in the dark ever since she gave birth to Max, a child with a rare genetic disease for whom even an hour in sunlight could prove fatal. For years, Anna has homeschooled Max and structured her life around his schedule, despite the fact that her husband Ian favors mainstreaming and wants Max to attend school with his older brother. When Anna learns of a camp in upstate New York for children with light sensitivity disorders, she sees room for a compromise between her own and Ian's approaches--a sanctuary for Max, a place where he can interact with other children and be both safe and free.

And so the summer that Max is nine, the family heads off to Camp Luna. At first, the place seems like the answer to their problems. But as Anna is drawn into life there and gets to know Hal, the camp's charismatic founder, freedom and safety soon prove to be complicated things. What begins as a novel about a family with a sick child quickly becomes an intricate, moving examination of one woman's identity as--given sudden breathing room--Anna looks around at her life and finds that she has lost track of essential pieces of herself. What, exactly, Anna comes to wonder, are safety and freedom? And at what cost -- to one's self and to the people in one's life --should they be protected and pursued?

Beautifully written, emotionally wrenching, Awake gives full rein to Elizabeth Graver's remarkable storytelling gifts as she limns the intricacies and passions of a woman's mind and heart. Elizabeth Graver is the author of Unravelling and The Honey Thief, both New York Times Notable Books. Her work has been included in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays, as well as in Prize Stories: The O.Henry Awards. She teaches at Boston College and lives with her family in Massachusetts.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from Awake by Elizabeth Graver. Copyright © 2004 by Elizabeth Graver. Published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC. All rights reserved.


If I were a different sort of person, this would be the story of my son and the sanctuary we found for him. It would be a tale of healing—if not of the body, then of the soul.

But what if a mother gets an itch, a yen? What if she tires of the tending, loses faith in the healing, needs a break? People in the paid workforce get vacations. Daycare providers get them, and nurses. Teachers take sabbaticals and leaves. What if the mother, who for years has checked and checked and checked her sick boy’s skin, watches the boy run off with his new friends and starts to notice her own skin again, the way it keens for something, wants? What if she finds herself split down the middle? Now she is two people, or even more—two mothers, two women in love with two men and with solitude itself, a person at once meshed and floating, coming and going, here and there. It should be disturbing, but it isn’t, not at first. She’s too happy. Brimming. Her love is wide and generous; she’s got more than enough to go around.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805065393
• ISBN 13: 9780805065398
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304