Topics about this book topics that mention this book. It is a book so radiant, so sparkling with sunlight and sorrow, that it almost makes a person gasp. The book selection for august in our reading group was jenny offills dept. Jenny offill imbues her sentences with a dazzling humanity that will make you feel all the things across the spectrum. There is a scene in jenny offills dept of speculation in which the writer protagonist bumps into a. The wife once exchanged love letters with her husband, postmarked dept. The wife says she longs to be an art monster, and the book works as a. Jan 30, 2014 jenny offills riveting new novel, dept. If i tell you that its funny, and moving, and true. With so much conveyed in so few words, its simply brilliant book of the year in the stylist this is probably my favourite new book. I read this for my book club and found it to be very thought provoking. Sometimes she still strokes his hair in the middle of the night and half asleep he turns to her. Pdf dept of speculation download full pdf book download. Its structurequotations, lists, jokes, articles and emails mixed with lizzies trenchant observationsechoes our current fragmented world and evershortening attention spans.
Donal ryan a slanting of the sun and jenny offill the department of speculation. Jan 31, 2014 jenny offills heroine, referred to as simply the wife, once exchanged love letters with her husband postmarked dept. Watson, i came across this book at auction as part of a larger lot i purchased on speculation. Covering the topics of love, loneliness, grief, joy, fidelity, beauty, depression, mania, motherhood, and writing, the shifting points of view are subtle yet profound, and despite the darkness and sadness of the story, when i closed the book i was left. She thinks about some of the people that shes met, and how she used to focus on her work.
The voice, structure, and content appealed to my reading tastes. A shattered novel that stabs and sparkles at the same time. With so much conveyed in so few words, its simply brilliant book of the year in the stylist this is probably my favourite new book this year. Moves quickly, but it is also joyously demanding because you will want to keep trying to understand the why of each fragment and how it fits with the others. Its told in 46 chapters composed of short paragraphs and almost aphoristic lines and quotes in 160 compact pages. I loved this book for its intelligent movement from science to philosophy to imperfect humanity. This month, dan kois, jessica winter, and meghan orourke discuss jenny offills slim but potent novel dept. Visa, mastercard, american express paypal, diners club and discover. Then they got married, had a child and navigated the familiar calamities of family lifea colicky baby, a faltering relationship, stalled ambitions. It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who dont quite understand, until they.
A reading group that celebrates women authors in both classic and contemporary works. From the acclaimed author of last things comes a slim, stunning portrait of a marriagea beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all. Some of ferrantes interrogations find new expression in offills original book. A memoir by will boast not in english common knowledge. From the point of view of an unnamed american woman, it gives us the hurrahs and boos of daily life, of marriage and of parenthood, with exceptional originality, intensity and sweetness.
She writes in reaction, all my life now appears to be one happy moment. Michel faber the book of strange new things, laline paul the bees, jessie burton the miniaturist and anthony doerr all the light we cannot see. It opens, for example, with the information that antelope have 10x vision and on a clear. In the beginning she was a writer and a fact checker, first working for a scientific magazine. Like offills awardwinning department of speculation, weather is short, absorbing and disturbingly funny. Jan 30, 2014 not every great book comes across as one when you go to summarize it. With exceptional originality, intensity and sweetness, dept.
It is the kind of book that you will be quoting over and over to friends who dont quite understand, until they give in and read it too. The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading groups discussion of dept. The henna artist opens a door into a world that is at. Jenny offills heroine, referred to as simply the wife, once exchanged love letters with her husband postmarked dept. Dept of speculation is a delectable and generous book book of the year, irish times offills book delicately examines the minutiae of a modern marriage. The book of speculation is one of the best books ive had the privilege to read. Its an unusual book not only in terms of its size, but also its form. Essays by leslie jamison not in english common knowledge. Everything i never told you by celeste ng not in english common.
Jenny offills brilliant, risktaking novel portrays the conflict between routine and obligation pitched against all the other things wed rather. More quilt than book, it is a pastiche of small pieces. Jenny offills new novel highlights the power of a woman on. The damage renders it useless to me, but a name inside it led me to believe it might be of interest to you or your family. Jenny offill is a master of form and feeling, and she gets life on the page in new, startling ways.
Jenny offills new novel highlights the power of a woman. Written with the dazzling lucidity of poetry, dept. As they confront an array of common catastrophes, the wife analyzes her predicament, invoking everything from keats and kafka to the lessons of doomed russian cosmonauts. It is also a beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all. Click here to sign up to the irish times book club.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read dept. It has the kind of plot that, on paper, sounds regrettably banal. She muses on the consuming, capacious experience of maternal love, and the near. On a rescheduled date yet to be selected, we will discuss discuss jenny offills department of speculation department of speculation was selected by the new york times as one of the ten best books of 2019. Jenny offills heroine, referred to in these pages as simply the wife, once exchanged love letters with her husband postmarked dept. Before we learn that the professor in jenny offills dept. Jenny offills heroine, referred to in these pages as simply the wife, once. By dan kois, meghan orourke, and jessica winter this month, dan. Jenny offills heroine, referred to in these pages as simply the wife, once exchanged love letters with her husband, postmarked dept. Our instore book club meeting scheduled for monday, march 30, has been postponed. American novelist jenny offill talks to james naughtie and bookclub listeners about dept. Offill has created a masterpiece that is philosophical, funny, and moving. This way anyone who couldnt be there, can still join in with the fun. I thought of ferrante while reading jenny offills second novel, dept.
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