The novel begins with the end of a relationship as the novel's protagonist Nicola Gatling, returning from a trip to the shops to get some cigarettes, is told by her lover Jonathan that he wants her to move out of their shared flat. The story follows Nicola's attempts to remake her life over the ensuing several weeks in 1990s London.
Gardner McFall in The New York Times in 1999 opined "In this novel, which was a finalist for the 1997 Booker Prize, Madeleine St. John shapes what might have been a bathetic story into a brisk, sophisticated and artful narrative buoyed by an ironic use of the religious imagery of hell, salvation and resurrection."[1]
The book was re-issued[2] in 2013 as part of the Text Publishing Text Classics series. At the time of the publication of that edition Gay Lynch wrote in Transnational Literature: "The prose is spare, supple and elegant, and constructed for the most part in dialogue that, occasionally, falls into a mechanical 'jolly hockey-sticks' register, with frequent play on the words 'whizzy' and the suffix 'ish'...Nevertheless, St John is a fine writer and this book is no grungy Australian bildungsroman; it is more a comedy of manners, perhaps or a Roman à clef."[3]
Referencesedit
^"Books" by Gardner McFall The New York Times, 24 January 1999
essence, thing, 1997, novel, australian, author, madeleine, john, shortlisted, booker, prize, 1997, first, editionauthormadeleine, johnlanguageenglishgenreliterarypublisherfourth, estate, londonpublication, date1997media, typeprint, paperbackpages234, ppisbn18. The Essence of the Thing 1997 is a novel by Australian author Madeleine St John It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1997 The Essence of the ThingFirst editionAuthorMadeleine St JohnLanguageEnglishGenreLiteraryPublisherFourth Estate LondonPublication date1997Media typePrint PaperbackPages234 ppISBN1857024184Preceded byA Pure Clear Light Followed byA Stairway to Paradise Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Awards 3 Notes 4 Reviews 5 ReferencesPlot summary editThe novel begins with the end of a relationship as the novel s protagonist Nicola Gatling returning from a trip to the shops to get some cigarettes is told by her lover Jonathan that he wants her to move out of their shared flat The story follows Nicola s attempts to remake her life over the ensuing several weeks in 1990s London Awards edit1997 shortlisted for the Man Booker PrizeNotes editThe novel carried the following dedication For Judith McCue Reviews editGardner McFall in The New York Times in 1999 opined In this novel which was a finalist for the 1997 Booker Prize Madeleine St John shapes what might have been a bathetic story into a brisk sophisticated and artful narrative buoyed by an ironic use of the religious imagery of hell salvation and resurrection 1 The book was re issued 2 in 2013 as part of the Text Publishing Text Classics series At the time of the publication of that edition Gay Lynch wrote in Transnational Literature The prose is spare supple and elegant and constructed for the most part in dialogue that occasionally falls into a mechanical jolly hockey sticks register with frequent play on the words whizzy and the suffix ish Nevertheless St John is a fine writer and this book is no grungy Australian bildungsroman it is more a comedy of manners perhaps or a Roman a clef 3 References edit Books by Gardner McFall The New York Times 24 January 1999 The Essence of the Thing Text Publishing Transnational Literature Vol 7 no 2 May 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Essence of the Thing amp oldid 1090158374, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
