Second Half First

Modjeska, Drusilla

ISBN 10: 0857989790 / ISBN 13: 9780857989796

Published by Knopf Australia, 2016

About this Item

[Author], [Publisher]. NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title. Author: Drusilla Modjeska Format: Hardback Number of Pages: 400 Beginning with the disastrous events of the night before her fortieth birthday, in Second Half First Drusilla Modjeska looks back on the experiences of the past thirty years that have shaped her writing, her reading and the way she has lived. From a childhood in England, and her parents difficult marriage, to her time as a young newlywed living with her husband in Papua New Guinea; arriving as a single woman in Sydney in the 1970s and building close friendships with writers such as Helen Garner, with whom she lived in the bookish house on the corner , and the lovers who would sometimes briefly derail her, to returning to Papua thirty years later to found a literacy program, this new book by Drusilla Modjeska is an intensely personal and moving account of an examined life. In asking the candid questions that so many of us face - about love and independence, the death of a partner, growing older, the bonds of friendship and family - Drusilla Modjeska reassesses parts of her life, her work, the importance to her of writers such as Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir, among many others. The result is a memoir that is at once intellectually provocative and deeply hones.

Seller Inventory # 9780857989796-SECONDHAND

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Second Half First
• Publisher: Knopf Australia
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0857989790
• ISBN 13: 9780857989796
• Binding: Hardback
• Book Type: Hardback

About this title

Synopsis

Richly textured, combining memoir with literary criticism, in Second Half First Drusilla Modjeska looks back on the experiences of the past 30 years which have shaped her writing, her reading, and the way she has lived. From a childhood in England, growing up with a father she admired deeply but felt she never really knew, to her time as a young newlywed, living with her husband in Papua New Guinea; arriving as a single woman in Sydney in the 1970s and building close friendships with writers such as Helen Garner, with whom she lived in the bookish "house on the corner," and the lovers who would—sometimes briefly—derail her, this new book by Drusilla Modjeska is an intensely personal and moving account of a truly examined life. In asking the candid questions that many women face: about love, marriage, the death of parents, growing older, the bonds of friendship and family, Drusilla Modjeska reassesses parts of her life, her work, her reading, the importance to her of writers such as Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir, among many others, to give us a memoir that is at once intellectually provocative and deeply personal, and the book that her readers have been waiting for.

About the Author

Drusilla Modjeska is one of Australia's most acclaimed writers. Her books include NSW Premier's Award and Australian Bookseller's Book of the Year Award-winner The Orchard; Stravinsky's Lunch; and her first novel, The Mountain, which was shortlisted for the 2013 Miles Franklin Award, the Western Australia Premier's Award and the Barbara Jefferis Award.