New Releases by Paula Fox

Newbery Medal–winning author Paula Fox''s gripping and sensitive portrayal of a teenage girl who discovers her father is not the man she thought he was. Catherine Ames''s father, Harry, has always been a mystery. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she has spent most of her life in a Montreal boarding school. When Harry suggests a month-long stay with him at his summer cabin in Nova Scotia, Catherine is thrilled. Finally she''ll have the kind of relationship with her father that other girls at school have with theirs. But the bright summer quickly darkens. Harry drinks—a lot. The more Catherine witnesses his drinking, the more she begins to hate him. Only, Catherine can''t help but love him too. A travel writer with a poet''s tongue, Harry is clever and exciting, and tells wonderful stories—until he drinks again, and the playful father that takes her on picnics becomes someone dark and frightening. How can the man she grew up wishing to be close to seem so far away? And how can Catherine bring him back to her? A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, The Moonlight Man is a lyrical and emotional account of love, acceptance, and the difficult lessons of growing up.

A Newbery Honor Book and Winner of the Christopher Award: A young boy fires a forbidden rifle—and must face the consequences. Ned Wallis''s minister father made him promise not to touch the rifle until he turns fourteen. But the eleven-year-old can''t resist sneaking outside and trying it out, just once. Ned takes aim, and fires—just as a dark shadow passes in front of him. When he looks up, a flickering face passes across the attic window. Someone was watching. When a feral cat appears outside the house of an elderly neighbor, with dried blood on its matted fur and a missing eye, Ned begins to wonder: Could he have shot this animal that night? Full of guilt and terrified that his secret will come out, Ned starts caring for the one-eyed cat. But will he be able to come clean about his broken promise and the shot in the dark? Spring brings the chance for redemption and a surprising revelation from an unexpected source in this New York Times Outstanding Children''s Book of the Year.

Eleven-year-old Clay must find a home on the streets of New York City in this award-winning, heartbreakingly honest novel. He was eleven years old, and he had never felt so alone in his life. Clay Garrity lived a normal life until his father lost his job and abandoned the family. Now his pregnant mother has deserted him too, leaving Clay alone in a welfare hotel with a jar of peanut butter and half a loaf of bread. Fearing being placed in foster care, Clay runs away. Alone in the city, Clay wanders down streets with boarded-up buildings and through dark alleys, until he comes to a small triangular park that looks like an island in a stream. In the light of a street lamp, he sees cardboard boxes, blankets, bundles—and people. Some are lying on benches, others inside boxes. Two of the men, Calvin and Buddy, offer to share their shelter, and Clay is grateful to have a place to stay during the bitter November cold. Before long, Calvin, Buddy, and Clay form a family amid the threatening dangers and despair of the streets. Clay knows that leaving the streets and going into foster care means that he may never see his parents again. But if he stays, he may not survive at all. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults, this acclaimed novel offers an intensely moving and candid look at the all-too-real lives of homeless teens.

From Newbery Medal–winning author Paula Fox, an isolated young girl discovers surprising revelations about her grandmother—and herself. Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Elizabeth Benedict is furious when she finds out she''ll be spending a month with her grandmother in Maine. She''s sure she''s being packed off to a remote island to live in a cottage without electricity or plumbing so that her parents can be alone with her new baby brother. While her grandmother spends her days painting, Elizabeth explores the island. She is drawn to Aaron, the strange son of their only neighbors. One day, something happens that changes everything—and reveals the real reason she was sent to Pring Island. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, this incandescent novel takes on themes of isolation, creativity, and family as an elderly woman confronts her own mortality with acceptance and dignity.

Newbery Medal winner Paula Fox depicts a fateful summer on the mysterious Greek island of Thasos in this "haunting tale" ( The New York Times Book Review). Lily Corey and her older brother, Paul, have been summering on the Greek island of Thasos with their parents. For Lily, it''s been fun hanging out with her brother, exploring the island, and studying ancient mythology and archaeology—until they meet Jack Hemmings. When Paul and Jack become friends, Lily feels left out. She thinks Jack is a show-off and a fake. She also knows he''s sad and lonely, yet she still wishes the boys would include her on their wild adventures. Then, one day, Jack shows off too much and something terrible happens . . . Amid the wilds of an exotic Greek island, Lily and the Lost Boy is the "beautifully crafted" ( Kirkus Reviews) story of a young girl coming of age and discovering her courage and compassion.

"Hennes meningar är små underverk av förtätning och exakthet, var och en är en roman i sin egen rätt." Jonathan Franzen "En verklig milstolpe inom efterkrigsrealismen ... Ett prosaverk som levt kvar med oförminskad styrka, så klart och förfinat att det snarare verkat snidat är skrivet." David Foster Wallace Sophie och Otto Bentwood lever ett välordnat liv i Brooklyn i New York, med Goethes samlade verk i bokhyllan och coctailbjudningar i kalendern. Men när Sophie blir oväntat biten av en katt är det ett av många illavarslande tecken i parets liv. Sophie oroar sig för rabies, Otto är frustrerad över att hans partner på advokatbyrån har beslutat sig för att starta eget, en hemlös man somnar i sina egna spyor på gatan utanför, inbrott och krossade rutor överallt. Det är i slutet av sextiotalet, rika och fattiga lever sida vid sida i New York med brottsligheten inpå knuten. Sophie och Otto känner att världen utanför invaderar deras liv, hotar det, blandar sig med deras egen förtvivlan över det liv de lever tillsammans. Paula Fox (född 1923) är en av efterkrigstidens främsta amerikanska författare. Hon gav ut ett halvdussin romaner från sent sextiotal fram till åttiotalet, men fick aldrig något riktigt publikt genombrott trots översvallande kritik. David Foster Wallace och Jonathan Franzen engagerade sig i hennes författarskap på nittiotalet, och det har nu fått en senkommen renässans. Förtvivlade människor räknas numera som en av de verkliga klassikerna i modern amerikansk litteratur. "Ett svindlande bra kammarspel ... imponerar stort ... Fox skriver med precisionen hos en neurokirurg. Varje mening är uppmärksam, maximalt effektiv och sätter igång tolkningsspiraler som sprider sig vidare genom romanen ... Det intressanta med Förtvivlade människor är inte att den skildrar borgerskapets spleen och den övre medelklassens självupplevda brist på mening, det har gjorts många gånger förut. Vad som imponerar är hur den med mycket små medel lyckas sätta existentiella frågor i svang ... Det är först när man kommit riktigt nära som man ser att alltihop är ett skådespel. Vrider man huvudet kommer verkligheten rusande. Och likt Otto, som inte förstår varför hans barndomsvän och arbetspartner har lämnat honom och firman, står man handfallen: "Jag kunde inte fatta att han avskydde mig så mycket. Sedan skrek han att inget förtryck någonsin varit så svårt att bekämpa som medelklassens förtryck eftersom det har tusen olika ansikten, till och med revolutionens ansikte, och att det har en omättlig mage som till och med kan livnära sig på det gift som dess fiender lägger ut för att frigöra det. " I de stunderna är Förtvivlade människor svindlande bra ... håller för flera omläsningar. Det är det ganska få romaner som gör." Anna Hallberg, Dagens Nyheter "Sällan har jag sträckläst en roman så glupande, som samtidigt är så exakt. Förtvivlade människor är dialogisk, även om orden de yttrar inte längre betyder något, är urvattnade sin mening. Sällan har jag läst en så finkalibrerad bok, jag tänker på Lena Anderssons Utan personligt ansvar så ensidigt i huvudet på en enda, Ester, här rör sig misstämningen, ensamheten, felsluten, rädslan som en finkornigt damm mellan alla karaktärerna. Paula Fox förmår skildra konsekvenserna av ett enda kattbett och låta ett helt samhällsskikt bryta samman ... Som sagt, sällan har jag sträckläst en roman med samma iver, att skildra uttråkade människor så det inte blir tråkigt är en stor konst." Katarina Wikars, SR Kulturnytt "Förtvivlade människor är ett mästerverk ... Paula Fox bara iakttar och registrerar med kristallklara meningar. Hennes röntgenblick tränger rätt in i själen på medelklassen." Andreas Nordström, Dalarnas tidning "En perfekt studie i äktenskaplig kyla och det bekväma livets obehag." Fokus "Det lågmälda språket övertygar i denna diskre

Paula Fox vart fødd i New York i 1923. Like etterpå bestemte foreldra seg for å leve det gode liv i Hollywood, og forlét dottera på ein barneheim på Manhattan. Bestemora hentar Paula, og sidan vert ho flytta frå heim til heim og er prisgitt venlege framande. Stundom vil foreldra låne ho litt, før dei igjen prioriterar seg og sitt. I denne sjølvbiografiske romanen fortel Paula Fox om sin eigen barndom, som ho sjølv kallar eit liv i tilfeldig flyt. Ho skildrar kor mykje, og kor lite, eit barn treng for å overleve.

“Not only can Fox see, she can hear, she can feel.”—Zadie Smith, Harper’s This gathering of Paula Fox’s short work spans her illustrious career, from 1965 to the present including perfectly turned stories; pointed, engaging essays; and raw yet eloquent memoir.

"Chekhovian. . . . Every line of Fox''s story, every gesture of her characters, is alive and surprising."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times On the eve of their trip to Africa, Laura Maldonada Clapper and her husband, Desmond, sit in a New York City hotel room, drinking scotch-and-sodas and awaiting the arrival of three friends: Clara Hansen, Laura''s timid, brow-beaten daughter from a previous marriage; Carlos, Laura''s flamboyant and charming brother; and Peter Rice, a melancholy editor whom Laura hasn''t seen for over a year. But what begins as a bon voyage party soon parlays into a bitter, claustrophobic clash of family resentment. From the hotel room to the tony restaurant to which the five embark, Laura presides over the escalating innuendo and hostility with imperial cruelty, for she is hiding the knowledge that her mother, the family matriarch, has died of a heart attack that morning. A novel as intense as it is unerringly observed, The Widow''s Children is another revelation of the storyteller''s art from the incomparable Paula Fox.

"Vividly rendered...haunting...[Paula Fox] writes with silken ease and a sensitivity to nuance." — Newsday In 1941, twenty-three-year-old Helen Bynum leaves home for the first time and sets out from rural New York to find her Aunt Lulu, an aging actress in New Orleans. There she finds a life of passion and adventure, possibilities and choices. Falling in with a bohemian group of intellectuals, she discovers romance and sex, friendship and risk, her world mirrored by the steamy mystery of the French Quarter.

"Not only can Fox see, she can hear, she can feel."—Zadie Smith, Harper''s This gathering of Paula Fox''s short work spans her illustrious career, from 1965 to the present including perfectly turned stories; pointed, engaging essays; and raw yet eloquent memoir.

Kurzgeschichten, autobiografische Texte und Essays der 1923 in New York geborenen Autorin, die zu den Klassikerinnen der neueren amerikanischen Literatur gerechnet wird

Subito dopo la sua nascita nel 1923, Paula viene abbandonata dal padre, uno sceneggiatore di Hollywood con il debole per l’alcol, e dalla madre, starlette cubana glamorous e anaffettiva. Soccorsa dalla nonna, la bambina passa di mano in mano e di città in città: da New York a Cuba, dal convitto di Montreal a una squallida stanza ammobiliata a San Francisco. Sopravvissuta al lato più oscuro di Hollywood, tra fugaci apparizioni di attori famosi – Buster Keaton, John Wayne, Harpo Marx – e i luccichii di un mondo in dissolvenza, cullata dalla gentilezza degli sconosciuti, educata alla vita da zio Elwood, un severo pastore protestante, si sposerà a diciassette anni con un marinaio aspirante attore da cui avrà una figlia che darà a sua volta in adozione. L’indimenticabile romanzo autobiografico di Paula Fox si chiude con l’incontro, avvenuto a distanza di decenni, prima con la figlia perduta, e poi con l’anziana madre moribonda. Il vestito della festa è il ritratto composto di un’infanzia alla deriva, la delicata testimonianza di quanto – quanto poco, in fondo – ha bisogno un bambino per sopravvivere.

El padre de Liam está enfermo y morirá pronto. Enfermó de SIDA, y eso es lo que Liam no quiere aceptar. Tampoco admitir que hace tres años que descubrió la verdad sobre su padre... Fue aquel día en la playa... La mañana en que rompió la cometa que él le regaló y la enterró en la arena. Sin embargo, la muerte de su padre dará a Liam la respuesta al sentido de su propia vida.

Ante un eminente viaje de placer a África, Laura Maldonada y su marido Desmond, esperan en la habitación de un hotel de Nueva York, con un whisky en la mano, la llegada de tres amigos: Clara, una mujer tímida y frágil hija de Laura de un matrimonio anterior; Carlos, el hermano excéntrico de Laura; y Peter, editor melancólico con el que Laura no ha podido verse durante el último año. Pero lo que empieza como un alegre encuentro de despedida se convierte en un choque claustrofóbico de resentimientos familiares. Desde la habitación de hotel hasta el restaurante donde acabarán de pasar la noche, Laura preside una situación hostil con crueldad gélida, ya que esconde la noticia de que su madre, la matriarca de la familia, ha fallecido de un ataque al corazón esa misma mañana.

C''est une enfant délaissée par une mère indifférente et un père alcoolique que Paula Fox décrit dans le récit des vingt étranges et douloureuses premières années de sa vie. Alors même qu''ils confient à d''autres l''éducation de leur fille, notamment à un pasteur affable et cultivé qui lui transmettra l''amour de la littérature et à sa grand-mère qui l''emmènera vivre à Cuba, les parents de Paula Fox ne cesseront d''aller et venir dans sa vie. Ce sont eux les véritables enfants de cette histoire, des enfants terribles, beaux, fous, intelligents, autodestructeurs et incapables de s''occuper de leur fille, dont les différents voyages à travers le continent, de Cuba à Montréal en passant par Hollywood, rythment une existence qui lui paraît incohérente. La constante, le lien qu''elle y trouvera, sera ces "parures d''emprunt", vêtements toujours prêtés par des inconnus au grand cœur qui l''aideront à grandir dans le chaos. Sans jamais s''apitoyer, dans un style élégant et précis, Paula Fox revient dans ses Mémoires sur des années difficiles, en portant toujours un regard à la fois acéré et tendre sur la condition humaine.

1941 verlässt Helen zum ersten Mal ihren Heimatort und reist nach New Orleans. Sie ist voller Staunen, Angst, Liebe und Verwunderung. Sie bleibt hängen und verlässt die Stadt erst als verheiratete Frau wieder.

In this elegant and affecting companion to her "extraordinary" memoir, Borrowed Finery, a young writer flings herself into a Europe ravaged by the Second World War (The Boston Globe) In 1946, Paula Fox walked up the gangplank of a partly reconverted Liberty with the classic American hope of finding experience—or perhaps salvation—in Europe. She was twenty-two years old, and would spend the next year moving among the ruins of London, Warsaw, Paris, Prague, Madrid, and other cities as a stringer for a small British news service. In this lucid, affecting memoir, Fox describes her movements across Europe''s scrambled borders: unplanned trips to empty castles and ruined cathedrals, a stint in bombed-out Warsaw in the midst of the Communist election takeovers, and nights spent in apartments here and there with distant relatives, friends of friends, and in shabby pensions with little heat, each place echoing with the horrors of the war. A young woman alone, with neither a plan nor a reliable paycheck, Fox made her way with the rest of Europe as the continent rebuilt and rediscovered itself among the ruins. Long revered as a novelist, Fox won over a new generation of readers with her previous memoir, Borrowed Finery. Now, with The Coldest Winter, she recounts another chapter of a life seemingly filled with stories—a rare, unsentimental glimpse of the world as seen by a writer at the beginning of an illustrious career.

Un famélico gato callejero muerde a Sophie cuando ésta le da de comer. Ella, una atractiva mujer de cuarenta años a la que la vida parece tratar muy bien, y Otto, su marido, forman una de esas parejas burguesas neoyorquinas de finales de los sesenta que podrían despertar la sana envidia de cualquiera: un Mercedes, casa en Long Island, las obras completas de Goethe en su biblioteca... El incidente del gato, en apariencia banal, desata una serie de pequeños e inquietantes desastres comienzan a jalonar su vida revelando fisuras de un matrimonio (y una sociedad) que se está desintegrando. Tras este arranque aparentemente anecdótico, tras la fina ironía de los diálogos y la sucesión de cataclismos domésticos que habrán de producirse, late la tragedia existencial que sustenta todas las historias de Paula Fox: la incapacidad de sus personajes para comprender la verdadera esencia de la vida, que subyace a la apariencia de las cosas, la complejidad de los sentimientos humanos y el desmoronamiento de una sociedad cada vez más artificiosa. Felizmente rescatada del olvido por el escritor norteamericano Jonathan Franzen, la narrativa de Paula Fox merece un lugar de privilegio entre los grandes nombres de su generación como Philip Roth, Saul Bellow o John Updike. Abandonada por sus padres al nacer, la vida de Paula Fox (Nueva York, 1923) es un continuo tránsito por hogares de acogida y ciudades (en Cuba, Estados Unidos, Europa y Canadá), durante el cual ejerce los más variados oficios, estudia letras en la Columbia University y, finalmente, ya en su madurez, decide dedicarse en plenitud a la creación literaria.Ha escrito más de treinta obras (La cometa rota, La danza de los esclavos, El gato tuerto, entre otras) para público infantil, cuyo conjunto se hizo merecedor del prestigioso premio Andersen en 1978. Su obra se completa con seis novelas para adultos entre las que cabe destacar Strange Characters, God of Nightmares y un libro de memorias, Elegancia prestada.

Analyse : Roman psychologique (formation).

Autobiografische Kindheitserinnerungen der Autorin, die von hrer Schauspieler-Mutter abgelehnt wurde und innerlich vereinsamt und ohne familiäre Geborgenheit aufwuchs.

In this moving and unusual memoir - this portrait of a life adrift - there are many things Paula can''t remember, many things she can''t explain, but the gaps are telling, signifying a child''s quiet acceptance of the way things are.

America and the catastrophic world of twentieth-century war, mass murder, and horror are the backdrop of this story of Annie Gianfala, a young woman who finds herself cast adrift in Hollywood with World War II looming. Defending herself with despairing stubbornness against personal catastrophe, she is able to save her life and escape. "Enormously touching and wholly believable."— Washington Post Book World