Ocean Avenue (90s) - INSCRIBED FIRST PRINTING

Wilkinson, Margaret

ISBN 10: 1852421959 / ISBN 13: 9781852421953

Published by Serpent's Tail, London, 1991

About this Item

Near fine first printing in original soft cover. As new, unread copy with no creasing to spine. Some light and inevitable shelf wear and marks to front and rear panels as this book is over 30 years old. One or two spots of foxing to fore edge. Warmly inscribed by the author to the title page 'To Ann, All my love Margaret Wilkinson'. First novel by Manya Wilkinson, author of the prize winning Lublin. As an enthusiastic collector myself I make every effort to provide a high level of service. Enquiries welcomed. Paypal accepted.

Seller Inventory # 009942

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ocean Avenue (90s) - INSCRIBED FIRST PRINTING
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail, London
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1852421959
• ISBN 13: 9781852421953
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Near Fine
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Blending humour and a sense of history, the narrator tells a family story that travels between Brooklyn, Florida and Europe. From the aunt who took the forbidden step of buying bacon for her daughters, to the uncle who kicked grapefruit trees, the characters portray emigre life on both continents.

Reviews

Minna's Jewish immigrant family history eludes understanding, but she feels it controls her destiny. She realizes answers will be found not in the facts but in the apocryphal, often contradictory anecdotes that make up the family folklore, which Wilkinson delivers with a wry wit that recalls Woody Allen. Minna frantically rummages through recollections and second-hand anecdotes, beginning with the only information known about her nearsighted great-grandfather: "He hung his hat on a fly" (mistaken for a nail). But Minna's family traumatizes her. Her parents, followers of Wilhelm Reich, send her to a neo-Reichian who tickles her and sticks a finger down her throat because "vomiting and laughter released muscular tension in imitation of the orgasm." This violation sums up Minna's feelings toward her brusque, intrusive family, and she flees to England, where she marries an even-keeled man. In her first novel, Wilkinson confidently and evocatively blends the historical and personal--the miracle of the steel wool that fell at her grandmother's feet, an aunt and uncle's attempt to grow grapefruits in Florida, the Holocaust--into a disturbing yet funny tale.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.