Before and AfterBefore and After
Title rated 2.35 out of 5 stars, based on 4 ratings(4 ratings)
Book, 1992
Current format, Book, 1992, , No Longer Available.Book, 1992
Current format, Book, 1992, , No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsRosellen Brown's long-awaited novel is the extraordinary story of a family's struggle to survive the throes of tragedy. Set in the small town of Hyland, the backdrop for Brown's Tender Mercies, Before and After centers on Carolyn and Ben Reiser and their two children, Judith and Jacob, who have moved to New England for the comforts of rural life. Carolyn is a pediatrician who devotes her time and energy to making young lives painless and healthy. Ben is a sculptor whose imagination works overtime, yielding strange creatures of benevolent, almost totemic significance. Jacob is their seventeen-year-old son, whose shyness conceals darker impulses he keeps hidden from his parents. And Judith is his unforgettable sister, puzzled by her brother's secrecy and sexual preoccupations, suspicious of his suppressed anger.
When the chief of police comes looking for Jacob one evening to question him about the bludgeoning to death of his teenage girlfriend, the Reisers' lives are changed forever. Before and After is the compelling drama of the search for Jacob, his capture, and the chain of events set in motion by a brutal crime of passion. It's a story that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against the law. With a flawless ear for dialogue and a profound understanding of character and motive, Rosellen Brown has given us a heart-wrenching novel that questions the very nature of violence in our society and our ability to ever really know our children. Beautifully written, compassionate and wise, Before and After confirms Rosellen Brown's reputation as a writer who "can do anything with language . . . She can engender and render five emotions simultaneously, and throw over a whole novel a skein of sureness and sympathy" (Cynthia Ozick).
Beautifully written, compassionate and wise, Rosellen Brown’s novel is the extraordinary story of a family’s struggle to survive the throes of a tragedy. Before and After centers on Carolyn and Ben Reiser and their two children, Judith and Jacob, who live comfortably in a small New England town. When the chief of police comes looking for seventeen-year-old Jacob to question him about the bludgeoning to death of his girlfriend, the Reisers’ lives are changed forever. Before and After is the compelling drama of the search for Jacob, his capture, and the chain of events set in motion by a brutal crime of passion. It is a story that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against the law. With a flawless ear for dialogue and profound understanding of character and motive, Rosellen Brown has written a heart-wrenching novel that questions the very nature of violence in our society and our ability to ever really know our children.
When the chief of police comes to question Jacob Reiser about the brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend, it throws the entire family into a feud laced with guilt and questions of loyalty. 40,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Movie tie-in.
When the chief of police comes to question Jacob Reiser about the brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend, it throws the entire family into a feud laced with guilt and questions of loyalty
When the chief of police comes looking for Jacob one evening to question him about the bludgeoning to death of his teenage girlfriend, the Reisers' lives are changed forever. Before and After is the compelling drama of the search for Jacob, his capture, and the chain of events set in motion by a brutal crime of passion. It's a story that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against the law. With a flawless ear for dialogue and a profound understanding of character and motive, Rosellen Brown has given us a heart-wrenching novel that questions the very nature of violence in our society and our ability to ever really know our children. Beautifully written, compassionate and wise, Before and After confirms Rosellen Brown's reputation as a writer who "can do anything with language . . . She can engender and render five emotions simultaneously, and throw over a whole novel a skein of sureness and sympathy" (Cynthia Ozick).
Beautifully written, compassionate and wise, Rosellen Brown’s novel is the extraordinary story of a family’s struggle to survive the throes of a tragedy. Before and After centers on Carolyn and Ben Reiser and their two children, Judith and Jacob, who live comfortably in a small New England town. When the chief of police comes looking for seventeen-year-old Jacob to question him about the bludgeoning to death of his girlfriend, the Reisers’ lives are changed forever. Before and After is the compelling drama of the search for Jacob, his capture, and the chain of events set in motion by a brutal crime of passion. It is a story that pits parent against parent, brother against sister, family against community, blood loyalty against the law. With a flawless ear for dialogue and profound understanding of character and motive, Rosellen Brown has written a heart-wrenching novel that questions the very nature of violence in our society and our ability to ever really know our children.
When the chief of police comes to question Jacob Reiser about the brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend, it throws the entire family into a feud laced with guilt and questions of loyalty. 40,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo. Movie tie-in.
When the chief of police comes to question Jacob Reiser about the brutal murder of his teenage girlfriend, it throws the entire family into a feud laced with guilt and questions of loyalty
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- New York : Farrar Straus Giroux, c1992.
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