Bücher veröffentlicht von Parthian Books

The Lake is a raw account of life in a devastated land and the harsh,primitive circumstances under which people fight to survive.

A family already struggling is ung headlong apart from each other in grief....In this atmospheric novella, the mysterious Plankton Collector visits members of a family torn apart by grief and regret. He comes in different guises. For ten-year old Mary, he is Mr Smith who takes her on a train journey to the seaside. Her mother, Rose, meets him as Stephen, by her son's graveside. Rose's youngest, Bunny, encounters him as the gardener. For husband and father David, meanwhile, the meeting is with a love from his youth. And long-lost Uncle Barnaby takes the children for a week's holiday during which their parents begin a reconciliation.A wound will heal, and knit them back together....All visitors are manifestations of the Plankton Collector who teaches those he encounters the difference between the discarded weight of unhappy memories and the lightness borne by happiness recalled.'A brilliantly evoked examination of memory and innocence... delivers a kaleidoscope of compelling voices united by a spectral visitor, not from the heights, but the apparent depths. Haunting.' James Clammer, author of Why I Went Back'A delicate paean for coming together, full of understanding for the quirks and pitfalls and ultimate goodness in human nature.' Mavis Cheek'Cath Barton tells the story... with a lyrical voice that is very much her own. This beautifully structured novella leads the reader to a resolution that is both moving and deeply satisfying.' Francesca Rhydderch, author of The Rice Paper DiariesIn haunting, exquisite prose the author explores the disconnects that exist within families as each deals with the internal difficulties inherent in life as it progresses. Moments of happiness can be overshadowed by loss, yet it is the former that should be granted attention and treasured... In this short novella a world has been conjured that recognises the depths of unhappiness yet offers hope. It reminds that reactions when grieving are neither uniform nor prescriptive, but that individuals, once known, are never entirely lost. Jackie Law, @followthehens'As light and fleeting as a happy memory... caring and heart-warming... about people with memories we could all share. It will resonate deeply with anyone who has been through trauma. But anyone who has longed for happier, simpler times will find nostalgic memories becoming lighter too.' James Lloyd, The Cardiff Review'Utterly convincing... so that the reader steps easily into the story, watching the characters` lives unfold at close quarters, hoping and yearning with them. The last few sentences brought me to tears. We all need our own Plankton Collector.' Robin Walker, amazon.co.uk'Unusual and skillfully crafted tale... filled with sublime descriptive language that has left lasting images in my mind.' Clement, amazon.co.uk'Poetic... skilful... a heart-breaking picture of love, regret, loss and ultimate reconciliation. Thoroughly recommended.' Martin, amazon.co.uk'Effortlessly creates a heady mixture of mid-century real world and magical realism.' Sheesh, amazon.co.uk'There's a flow to the language which is like... rocking gently in a boat... the characters are drawn with such subtly, honesty, and compassion. Even though the central event of the book is coming to terms with death, it was... the quiet disintegration and equally quiet rebuilding of a marriage... that had me riveted.... a short, utterly original, very human, marvelous book.' H Hewett, amazon.com

Written for the sister of a man who died from anorexia, this is a young woman's experience of the disorder while studying at the University of Oxford. Catherine Haines' lively account of student life is enriched with literary, philosophical and existential questions. As the Cambridge Weight Plan spins out of control, a post-graduate's academic subject, 'the mind-body problem', goes through an existential phase to become 'extraordinary morality' rather than a mental health problem. The iron will with which Catherine imposes on herself ever more onerous conditions is awe-inspiring. The author is clearly fiercely intelligent, as we can see from the way she exposes the ugly truth behind historical depictions of women with eating disorders and indeed the way society frames abstinence from food as an ally of virtue. However, starving her body means that Catherine also begins to starve her brain. Incisive literary criticism of Hamlet descends into feverish noodlings about Einstein's theory of relativity. Her descriptions enfold the reader in the hideous illogic of the anorexic. This is a rigorous, philosophical case for regarding an eating disorder as pilgrimage. My Oxford is a personal exorcism, the kind which writers perform on paper while ghting with demons, fears, fate and death, an exorcism which, while painful, is also saving.'Made me think deeply about the structure of society in relation to women's bodies. We still frame our conversations about food in terms or virtue. Searingly honest, sparing, taut, tightly controlled, provocative in the best way, considered and beautifully written. Catherine writes an account of how, through her regime of exercise and abnegation, she tries to reach some sort of transcendent truth in the footsteps of Simone Weil. My Oxford will stay with me.' Cathryn Summerhayes, Curtis Brown Literary Agency'This powerful, thought-provoking debut explores the author's experiences of her eating disorder in a narrative that is emotionally and intellectually complex yet unflinchingly accessible. Her honest, crafted words are alive with meaning both in what they say and in the spaces they create for the reader's imagination.' Frank Egerton, author of The Lock and Invisible 'Catherine has written a precise and gripping memoir that illuminates anorexia in a way I have never encountered. Eloquent and thoughtful, there is so much here for anybody who has wrestled with themselves.' Bridie Jabour, author of The Way Things Should Be'Superbly written; and as an author myself, I love the sparseness of the text - as if the words were doing to the page what the writer was dong to the flesh. It is a perfect example of the connection between style and content.' Stephen Stoneham'A rigorous, philosophical case for regarding eating disorder as pilgrimage.' Gwen Davies (adjudication), judge, New Welsh Writing Awards 2017