History (Paperback)

Paperback. A thoughtful and masterful novel in verse by an innovative 20th-century poet. One of Englands foremost poets, Craig Raine offers a bold, ambitious chronicle of life (New York Times Review) told through the stories of two families, the Pasternaks and the Raines, who touch each other and are touched by history in different ways. Like a home movie, this novel in verse masterfully conjures the world in which these families move by re-creating the texture of ordinary and extraordinary life. Blending fact, fiction, and thrilling leaps of imagination, History: The Home Movie promises to be the film youll ever read. Craig Raines History admirably reclaims poetrys narrative function, its capacity to fictionally propose a world as complex and mysterious as reality itself. A challenging, innovative, and unsettling novel in verse.Los Angeles TimesA sly, surprising, brilliant, and yes, readable book.Boston Phoenix A genuine tour de force by one of Britain's foremost poets, this latter-day verse epic interweaves fact and fiction with inventive brilliance. At once a vivid history of Europe from 1905 to 1984, and a gripping saga of two families--one English, one Russian--this enormously entertaining narrative is sensual, powerful, and utterly original. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…