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| The Widow's Children | 
 enlarge | Author: Paula Fox
Publisher: Flamingo
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £1.13
You Save: £5.86 (84%)
New (1) from £5.24
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 644753
Media: Paperback
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0007150377
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780007150373
ASIN: 0007150377
Publication Date: June 16, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Ex Library book. Posted from the uk, same day where possible. International delivery via airmail
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| Customer Reviews:
Gem of a novel December 23, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of those rare books that is almost impossible to review without quoting the whole novel from cover to cover. Pretty much every clipped and stripped back sentence in The Widow's Children resonates with meaning and provides startling insights into the ways in which family members interact and play games with one another.
Originally published in 1976 and only recently back in print via Flamingo, The Widow's Children is peppered with eccentric characters, many of them wholly detestable, seething with anger and unspoken hostility.
The lead character, the fierce and somewhat bitchy Laura Maldonada Clapper, is about to embark on an African vacation with her slightly browbeaten husband Desmond. On the eve of their departure they throw a small party in their New York hotel room for a select group of people: Laura's unspecified male friend Peter, her gay brother Carlos and her daughter from a previous marriage, Clara. The party eventually moves onto a restaurant in Manhattan in which family members struggle to control their rage about things said or not said in the past.
The lynch-pin of the novel is the fact that Laura, one of those hard-nosed women of whom it is impossible to say no, is withholding information: earlier that day she was told that her mother, the matriarch of the family, had died. It is only when this information leaks out that the real family fireworks begin.
The Widow's Children is a short, easy-to-read novel (I devoured it in one sitting) but its brevity should not be mistaken for lack of depth. This is a fiercely intelligent read featuring brilliantly realistic characters. The dialogue is sharp, snappy and often witty, and despite the sometimes sombre subject matter the pathos is tempered by glimmers of unexpected humour. This is definitely a worthy follow-up to her much acclaimed Desperate Characters.
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