August Frost - Hardcover

Roffey, Monique

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871138697 ISBN 13: 9780871138699

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr, 2003

Synopsis

A lyrical, sensual novel follows the adventures of August, a painfully shy young man whose skin changes colors with the seasons. A first novel.

About this title

About the Author

Monique Roffey is now center director at The Arvon Foundation's residential center for writers in Devon.

Reviews

An imaginative fable grounded in realistic detail, this first novel follows the metamorphosis of August Chalmin, a socially awkward, lonely 30-something Londoner with "upright blood-orange hair which limbo danced crazily from his head, as though a madman lived there, leaping from a burning attic." Such vibrant language is one of the charms of the novel, along with its highly original premise: over the course of a year, August's body undergoes a series of peculiar changes tied to the seasons. His skin turns blue and an icicle dangles from his ear in the fall and winter. In the spring, his body begins to bud, sprouting small leaves and branches. August wants to believe these developments are some kind of allergic reaction, perhaps to a cheese in the gourmet delicatessen where he works. But the real cause is the unexpected appearance of Cosmo Rodriguez-a former lover of his mother's, and a menacing figure from August's childhood, who recently moved into the neighborhood. Raised haphazardly on a commune by his mother, Olivia, August has always believed his real father was dead, but begins to worry that Cosmo, whom he's never liked, might be the one. The search for his origins propels this oddly convincing story of transformation, which leaves August finally feeling "good in his skin" for the first time in his emotionally stunted life. Mournful, quietly suspenseful and gently surreal, August's story is a haunting-if occasionally slow-moving-whimsy that marks the arrival of a talented newcomer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Published to lofty praise in Great Britain, Roffey's debut novel is an ambitious tale of growth and self-discovery about a peculiar 30-year-old Londoner named August. He has orange hair and pale eyes and is "six feet four in his skin, elbows sharp as corncobs, collarbones protruding like the jaws of a great fish." After watching a snow flurry come and go, August is struck dumb as the flakes continue to fall--but only around him. It soon becomes clear August is something of a walking weather station; his body actually changes with the passing months and seasons. All the while, he keeps quiet about his odd metamorphoses--plagued by questions about his father and the return of his mother's soft-brained boyfriend, his body's eccentricities are all that keep him whole. Roffey is an evocative writer, and her book has all the best qualities of a fanciful work of invention. It is rich and layered and sophisticated in a way that not enough novels are. Kevin Canfield
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Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0871138697
• ISBN 13: 9780871138699
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400