Items related to The Trouble with Being Born: A Novel
Synopsis
Novel, memoir, and anti-memoir, The Trouble with Being Born depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, they recall their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations. Frances's story moves in reverse: beginning with her dementia in old age, her narrative moves backwards into lucidity, through a cruel and loveless marriage, the birth of her son Jeffrey, and into a childhood that she recalls fondly as a time of innocence and belonging. Joe's memories begin in childhood, a bewildered boy struggling with poverty, racism, and isolation, and we watch him grow into a manhood fraught with wrong turns, rage, betrayals, and disappointment, caring in the end for the woman he has long mistreated. The Trouble with Being Born is a stark meditation on memory and the struggle–both necessary and impossible–to remember.
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About the Author
Jeffrey DeShell is the author of the novels In Heaven Everything is Fine, S & M, and Peter: An (A)Historical Romance.
Review
“The Trouble with Being Born evokes the constricted egotism and materialistic desperation of America’s mid-century. The DeShell family seems incomprehensible, spilling out everywhere as romantic fragments, bourgeois myths, the bric-a-brac of blocked transcendence and dogged calculations. I emerged from the reading with a powerful sense of words struggling, like the characters themselves, to organize contradictions into a life.”—R. M. Berry
“In his fourth book, Jeffrey DeShell takes on the challenge of writing from inside those familiar strangers whose lives led to his own: his parents. The elegant formal structure of The Trouble with Being Born organizes a thoughtful, heartfelt, and extraordinarily visual (indeed, sensual) querying of histories, subjectivities, and the narrative shapes we give to our lives.”—Laura Mullen
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFiction Collective 2
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 1573661414
- ISBN 13 9781573661416
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages208
- Rating
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Trouble with Being Born
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The Trouble with Being Born Format: Paperback
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University of Chicago press, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
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The Trouble with Being Born: A Novel
Published by
Fiction Collective 2, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
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Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. NEAR FINE CONDITION, softcover, all clean pages, The Trouble with Being Born: A Novel, by Jeffrey DeShell, pub. Fiction Collective 2, 2008. Seller Inventory # ABE-1689892036482
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The Trouble with Being Born (Paperback)
Published by
The University of Alabama Press, Normal, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
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Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Fairfield, OH, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. This is a fierce portrait of memory, family, and regret. Novel, memoir, and anti-memoir, ""The Trouble with Being Born"" depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, they recall their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations.Frances' story moves in reverse: beginning with her dementia in old age, her narrative moves backwards into lucidity, through a cruel and loveless marriage, the birth of her son Jeffrey, and into a childhood that she recalls fondly as a time of innocence and belonging.Joe's memories begin in childhood, a bewildered boy struggling with poverty, racism, and isolation, and we watch him grow into a manhood fraught with wrong turns, rage, betrayals, and disappointment, caring in the end for the woman he has long mistreated. ""The Trouble with Being Born"" is a stark meditation on memory and the struggle - both necessary and impossible - to remember. Depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, this title recalls their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781573661416
Quantity: 1 available
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The Trouble with Being Born. A Novel.
Published by
The University of Alabama Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
New
Softcover
First Edition
Seller: Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd., Galway, GY, Ireland
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Condition: New. Depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, this title recalls their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations. Num Pages: 209 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 216 x 140 x 16. Weight in Grams: 304. . 2008. 1st Edition. Paperback. . . . . Seller Inventory # V9781573661416
Quantity: 15 available
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The Trouble with Being Born. A Novel.
Published by
The University of Alabama Press, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
New
Softcover
Seller: Kennys Bookstore, Olney, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: New. Depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, this title recalls their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations. Num Pages: 209 pages. BIC Classification: FA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 216 x 140 x 16. Weight in Grams: 304. . 2008. 1st Edition. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # V9781573661416
Quantity: 15 available
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The Trouble with Being Born: A Novel
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Paperback. Condition: Good. Good - Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name - GOOD Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # M1573661414Z3
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The Trouble with Being Born
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Kartoniert / Broschiert. Condition: New. Depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, this title recalls their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations.Über den Autor. Seller Inventory # 904349133
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The Trouble with Being Born (Paperback)
Published by
The University of Alabama Press, Normal, 2008
ISBN 10: 1573661414
ISBN 13: 9781573661416
New
Paperback
Seller: AussieBookSeller, Truganina, VIC, Australia
Seller rating 3 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. This is a fierce portrait of memory, family, and regret. Novel, memoir, and anti-memoir, ""The Trouble with Being Born"" depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, they recall their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations.Frances' story moves in reverse: beginning with her dementia in old age, her narrative moves backwards into lucidity, through a cruel and loveless marriage, the birth of her son Jeffrey, and into a childhood that she recalls fondly as a time of innocence and belonging.Joe's memories begin in childhood, a bewildered boy struggling with poverty, racism, and isolation, and we watch him grow into a manhood fraught with wrong turns, rage, betrayals, and disappointment, caring in the end for the woman he has long mistreated. ""The Trouble with Being Born"" is a stark meditation on memory and the struggle - both necessary and impossible - to remember. Depicts the lives of Frances and Joe, husband and wife. Told in their own alternating voices, this title recalls their lives, separately and together, and the divergent trajectories of their origins and aspirations. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781573661416
Quantity: 1 available