Violet Clay: A Novel - Softcover

Godwin, Gail

  • 3.64 out of 5 stars
    252 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780345389930: Violet Clay: A Novel
Softcover
ISBN 10: 034538993X ISBN 13: 9780345389930
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2005

Synopsis

Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to take the art world by storm. But nine years, many affairs, and thousands of drinks later, the reality of her shadow life is made clear when she is fired from her job as a freelance illustrator. That same day, she hears that her beloved Uncle Ambrose, an unsuccessful writer, has shot himself.

As Violet collects the shattered pieces of her uncle's life, she is forced to face herself and her own tattered dreams. And what she discovers is that she has just been going through the motions of living. She's not even sure she can do anything else. But she's in her mid-thirties and knows she still has time to try again. If she succeeds, she will have broken from her family of dreamers forever and can deservedly claim both the rich rewards and frustrating adversities of the artist's life....

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Gail Godwin is a three-time National Book Award finalist and the bestselling author of twelve critically acclaimed novels, including A Mother and Two Daughters, Violet Clay, Father Melancholy’s Daughter, Evensong, The Good Husband, Queen of the Underworld, and Unfinished Desires. She is also the author of The Making of a Writer: Journals, 1961–1963 and The Making of a Writer, Volume 2: Journals, 1963–1969, edited by Rob Neufeld. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts grants for both fiction and libretto writing, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She has written libretti for ten musical works with the composer Robert Starer. Gail Godwin lives in Woodstock, New York.

From the Back Cover

Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to take the art world by storm. But nine years, many affairs, and thousands of drinks later, the reality of her shadow life is made clear when she is fired from her job as a freelance illustrator. That same day, she hears that her beloved Uncle Ambrose, an unsuccessful writer, has shot himself.
As Violet collects the shattered pieces of her uncle's life, she is forced to face herself and her own tattered dreams. And what she discovers is that she has just been going through the motions of living. She's not even sure she can do anything else. But she's in her mid-thirties and knows she still has time to try again. If she succeeds, she will have broken from her family of dreamers forever and can deservedly claim both the rich rewards and frustrating adversities of the artist's life....

From the Inside Flap

Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to take the art world by storm. But nine years, many affairs, and thousands of drinks later, the reality of her shadow life is made clear when she is fired from her job as a freelance illustrator. That same day, she hears that her beloved Uncle Ambrose, an unsuccessful writer, has shot himself.

As Violet collects the shattered pieces of her uncle's life, she is forced to face herself and her own tattered dreams. And what she discovers is that she has just been going through the motions of living. She's not even sure she can do anything else. But she's in her mid-thirties and knows she still has time to try again. If she succeeds, she will have broken from her family of dreamers forever and can deservedly claim both the rich rewards and frustrating adversities of the artist's life....

Reviews

The plot of Godwin's novel finds the title character trying to get her life back in order following the suicide of her uncle and the collapse of her promising art career. As LJ's reviewer commented, Godwin "continues to be one of our most intelligent, engaging makers of fiction" (LJ 5/15/78).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Ballantine Books
Publication date
2005
Language
English
ISBN 10 
034538993X
ISBN 13 
9780345389930
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
384
Rating
  • 3.64 out of 5 stars
    252 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780394426556: Violet Clay

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  039442655X ISBN 13:  9780394426556
Publisher: Knopf, 1978
Hardcover