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Loverboy by Redel, Victoria
by Redel, Victoria | PB | Good
US $6.70
Approximately£4.99
Condition:
“Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, ”... Read moreAbout condition
Good
A book that has been read, but is in good condition. Minimal damage to the book cover eg. scuff marks, but no holes or tears. If this is a hard cover, the dust jacket may be missing. Binding has minimal wear. The majority of pages are undamaged with some creasing or tearing, and pencil underlining of text, but this is minimal. No highlighting of text, no writing in the margins, and no missing pages. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections.
- Buy it nowLoverboy by Redel, Victoria
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Estimated between Wed, 23 Jul and Sat, 26 Jul to 94104
Located in: Aurora, Illinois, United States
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eBay item number:144518520977
Item specifics
- Condition
- Good
- Seller notes
- Binding
- Paperback
- Weight
- 0 lbs
- Product Group
- Book
- IsTextBook
- No
- ISBN
- 9780156007245
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
HarperCollins
ISBN-10
015600724X
ISBN-13
9780156007245
eBay Product ID (ePID)
8038286735
Product Key Features
Book Title
Loverboy
Number of Pages
224 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Psychological, Family Life, General
Publication Year
2002
Features
Reprint
Genre
Fiction
Format
Trade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height
0.6 in
Item Weight
6.7 Oz
Item Length
8 in
Item Width
5.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
2001-051804
Reviews
In Redel's controlled and convincing tale of a mother's obsession for her child, the first-person narrator endangers the life of her grade-school son, then asks rhetorically, "Has a mother ever loved a child more?" It is a disturbing question, since the entire novel proves to be the narrator's heartfelt demonstration of her single-minded devotion to the raising of her son, Paul. Conceived anonymously ("I never wanted a house and I never wanted a husband," remarks the narrator, who remains nameless and without a definite address), Paul is his mother's central passion; her own perilously solipsistic parents died in a suicide pact. Slavish in her attention to her son, she does not use contractions because they are lazy and calls him by anything (Loverboy, Babydoll) but his name because she cannot bear for him to join the ranks of the ordinary, school-taught drones. Beautifully succinct, lyrically composed chapters give occasionally disturbing glimpses of the narrator gravely ill in a hospital room, but not until the end of the novel does the reader become chillingly aware of how she has resisted the intrusion of the real world. Hints of her obsessive possessiveness crop up strategically: she secretly euthanatizes a sick baby bird they have found so that her son doesn't have to see it die; she lies about doctor appointments in order to take the boy out of school and off on magical junkets together. Painting a convincing portrait of her complex and surprisingly sympathetic narrator, Redel (Where the Road Bottoms Out) makes it possible to empathize with the woman's overwhelming love for her son: the novel succeeds because the reader cannot condemn her., PRAISE FOR LOVERBOY "A first novel that explores a mother's obsession, in prose at once lyrical and chillingly realistic."-- Elle "A spare and stunning debut whose lean, episodic style seems perfectly adapted to its subject matter . . . Perfect."-- San Francisco Chronicle "Cryptic . . . authoritative and vast-full of suspense, emotional urgency, and shimmering imagery."-- The Village Voice, PRAISE FOR LOVERBOY "A first novel that explores a mother's obsession, in prose at once lyrical and chillingly realistic."--Elle "A spare and stunning debut whose lean, episodic style seems perfectly adapted to its subject matter . . . Perfect."--San Francisco Chronicle "Cryptic . . . authoritative and vast-full of suspense, emotional urgency, and shimmering imagery."--The Village Voice --, "There is no falling in love like falling in love with a child," the anonymous narrator of Redel's first novel rhapsodizes. The daughter of solipsistic parents who killed themselves in a suicide pact, she takes the only bit of advice that they ever gave her ("It would do well to find a passion") and pursues single motherhood with disturbing aplomb. Paul, whom she calls "Loverboy" and "Babydoll," is the result of several one-night stands, and everything is magical between them until Paul starts to take an interest in the real world. When Paul leaves his mother for school and other children, she haunts the playground and makes up visits to the doctor to pull him out of school early. Redel, author of the story collection Where the Road Bottoms Out, writes like an angel about the darkest edge of obsession. This debut is simply excellent. Highly recommended. [Quality Paperback Book Club dual selection.] David Keymer, California State Univ., Stanislau. - David Keymer, California State Univ., Stanislaus, PRAISE FORLOVERBOY "A first novel that explores a mother's obsession, in prose at once lyrical and chillingly realistic."--Elle "A spare and stunning debut whose lean, episodic style seems perfectly adapted to its subject matter . . . Perfect."--San Francisco Chronicle "Cryptic . . . authoritative and vast-full of suspense, emotional urgency, and shimmering imagery."--The Village Voice
Dewey Edition
21
Dewey Decimal
813/.54
Edition Description
Reprint
Synopsis
In Victoria Redel's mesmerizing first novel, the question of what happens when a mother loves her child too much is deeply and darkly explored. Left with a small fortune by her parents and the cryptic advice, "it would do to find a passion," Redel's narrator sets out to become a mother--a task she feels she can be adequately passionate about. She conceives her son Paul through a loveless one-night stand, surrounds him with a wonderful, magical world for two--a world filled with books, music, endless games, and bottomless devotion--and calls him pet names like Birdie, Cookie, Puppy, and Loverboy. She wonders, "Has ever a mother loved a child more?" But as life outside their lace curtains begins to beckon the school-age Paul, his mother's efforts to keep him content in their small world become increasingly frantic and ultimately extreme by all definitions. In this exquisite debut novel, Victoria Redel takes us deep into the mind of a very singular mother, exposing the dangerously whisper-thin line between selfless and selfish motivation that exists in all types of devotion.
LC Classification Number
PS3568.E3443L68 2002
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- c***m (410)- Feedback left by buyer.Past 6 monthsVerified purchaseWOW!; I cannot believe this 3 Days to Hawaii! ; AAA+++; Excellent Service; Great Pricing; Fast Delivery-Faster Than Expected to Hawaii!; Shipped 05/05, Mon, Received 05/08, Thu to Hawaii using free shipping; USPS Ground Mail, Book in Excellent Condition--Better Than Described ; TLC Packaging; Excellent Seller Communication, Sends updates . Highly Recommended!, Thank you very much!
- a***r (375)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchasei am so happy to have every book of this series! the price of the book & the shipping is very reasonable! the book was as described & was in excellent condition! it was shipped quickly & arrived quickly! the books are always packaged carefully so they arrived undamaged! the communication from the sellers is always excellent--they go out of their way for excellent customer service! i have been a repeat customer from this seller & always will be! this seller is the best bookseller on ebay!
- l***b (330)- Feedback left by buyer.Past monthVerified purchase5 STARS on ALL aspects... ITEM AS DESCRIBED - 5 STARS... PACKAGING & SHIPPING - 5 STARS... VALUE OF ITEM RECEIVED - 5 STARS... COMMUNICATION - 5 STARS. Would highly recommend this seller to all Ebay buyers without any reservations. Thanks again for your business with BB812, and we do appreciate your care and consideration of our offer. HAPPY EBAY LIFE !!!