The House at the Edge of the World

Julia Rochester

ISBN 10: 0241971691 / ISBN 13: 9780241971697

Published by Penguin, 2016

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION AND SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2016Part mystery, part psychological drama, Julia Rochester's The House at the Edge of the World is a darkly comic, unorthodox and thrilling debutWhen I was eighteen, my father fell off a cliff. It was a stupid way to die. John Venton's drunken fall from a Devon cliff leaves his family with an embarrassing ghost. His twin children, Morwenna and Corwin, flee in separate directions to take up their adult lives. Their mother, enraged by years of unhappy marriage, embraces merry widowhood. Only their grandfather finds solace in the crumbling family house, endlessly painting their story onto a large canvas map.His brightly coloured map, with its tiny pictures of shipwrecks, forgotten houses, saints and devils, is a work of his imagination, a collection of local myths and histories. But it holds a secret. As the twins are drawn grudgingly back to the house, they discover that their father's absence is part of the map's mysterious pull. The House at the Edge of the World is the compellingly told story of how family and home can be both a source of comfort and a wholly destructive force. Cutting to the undignified half-truths every family conceals, it asks the questions we all must confront: who are we responsible for and, ultimately, who do we belong to 'Wonderfully crisp and funny, and so full of vivid, surprising images that the reader almost doesn't notice the moment that deep secrets begin to be revealed. I enjoyed this book so much' Emma Healey, bestselling author of Elizabeth is Missing.

Seller Inventory # 9780241971697

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The House at the Edge of the World
• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241971691
• ISBN 13: 9780241971697
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 198W x 129H x 16D millimeters 198 millimeters width by 129 millimeters height by 16 millimeters depth
• Weight: 318 grams

About this title

Synopsis

When I was eighteen, my father fell off a cliff. It was a stupid way to die.

John Venton's drunken fall from a Devon cliff leaves his family with an embarrassing ghost. His twin children, Morwenna and Corwin, flee in separate directions to take up their adult lives. Their mother, enraged by years of unhappy marriage, embraces merry widowhood. Only their grandfather finds solace in the crumbling family house, endlessly painting their story onto a large canvas map. His brightly colored map, with its tiny pictures of shipwrecks, forgotten houses, saints and devils, is a work of his imagination, a collection of local myths and histo­ries. But it holds a secret. As the twins are drawn grudgingly back to the house, they discover that their father's absence is part of the map's mysterious pull. The House at the Edge of the World is the compellingly told story of how family and home can be both a source of comfort and a wholly destructive force. Cutting to the undignified half-truths every family conceals, it asks the questions we all must confront: who are we responsible for and, ultimately, who do we belong to?

About the Author

Julia Rochester has worked for the BBC Portuguese Service and for Amnesty International.