The novel's plot focuses on a Wapishana family over the course of a century. A framing device is used, in which a present-day subsistence farmer named Chofy McKinnon moves from the bush to Guyana's capital city, Georgetown. The narrative explores McKinnon's ancestry. The ventriloquist, a being that is part bird, part spirit, provides commentary.
Receptionedit
Critics gave The Ventriloquist's Tale mostly positive reviews. The New York Times said the novel was "sumptuously written" and compared Melville's writing to the work of Evelyn Waugh.[2] The Guyana Chronicle claimed the book "should be mandatory reading for anybody who claims to have an interest in the literature of Guyana."[3][4]
Awardsedit
The Ventriloquist's Tale won the 1998 edition of the Whitbread First Novel Award.[5] It was also shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction in the same year. The award's website described the book as "large in scope but intimate as a whisper."[6]
ventriloquist, tale, novel, british, guayanese, author, pauline, melville, published, 1997, bloomsbury, publishing, book, follows, indigenous, guyanese, family, across, several, generations, novel, attracted, generally, positive, reviews, whitbread, first, nov. The Ventriloquist s Tale is a novel by British Guayanese author Pauline Melville published in 1997 by Bloomsbury Publishing The book follows an indigenous Guyanese family across several generations The novel attracted generally positive reviews It won the Whitbread First Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Women s Prize for Fiction The Ventriloquist s TaleAuthorPauline MelvilleCountryGuayanaLanguageEnglishPublisherBloomsbury PublishingPublication date1997Pages368ISBN1 58234 009 9 Contents 1 Background 2 Summary 3 Reception 4 Awards 5 ReferencesBackground editMelville was partly inspired to write the novel after reading Evelyn Waugh s novel A Handful of Dust 1 Summary editThe novel s plot focuses on a Wapishana family over the course of a century A framing device is used in which a present day subsistence farmer named Chofy McKinnon moves from the bush to Guyana s capital city Georgetown The narrative explores McKinnon s ancestry The ventriloquist a being that is part bird part spirit provides commentary Reception editCritics gave The Ventriloquist s Tale mostly positive reviews The New York Times said the novel was sumptuously written and compared Melville s writing to the work of Evelyn Waugh 2 The Guyana Chronicle claimed the book should be mandatory reading for anybody who claims to have an interest in the literature of Guyana 3 4 Awards editThe Ventriloquist s Tale won the 1998 edition of the Whitbread First Novel Award 5 It was also shortlisted for the Women s Prize for Fiction in the same year The award s website described the book as large in scope but intimate as a whisper 6 References edit Pauline Melville interview TheGuardian com 2 January 2010 A Handful of Guyana Pauline Melville s the Ventriloquist s Tale A Handful of Guyana Costa Book Awards Past Winners Complete List PDF Costa Book Awards Archived from the original PDF on 2009 12 29 The Ventriloquist s Tale Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Ventriloquist 27s Tale amp oldid 1148904381, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
