The Idea of Perfection: Picador Classic

Awards:   Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001 Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001 (UK) Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001.
Author:   Kate Grenville
Publisher:   Pan Macmillan
Edition:   Main Market Ed.
Volume:   59
ISBN:  

9781509823437


Pages:   432
Publication Date:   19 October 2017
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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The Idea of Perfection: Picador Classic


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Awards

  • Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001
  • Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001 (UK)
  • Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction 2001.

Overview

With an introduction by Evie Wyld The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville is a funny and touching romance between two people who've given up on love. Set in the eccentric little backwater of Karakarook, New South Wales, pop. 1374, it tells the story of Douglas Cheeseman, a gawky engineer with jug-handle ears, and Harley Savage, a woman altogether too big and too abrupt for comfort. Harley is in Karakarook to foster 'Heritage', and Douglas is there to pull down the quaint old Bent Bridge. From day one, they're on a collision course. But out of this unpromising conjunction of opposites, something unexpected happens: sometimes even better than perfection.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kate Grenville
Publisher:   Pan Macmillan
Imprint:   Picador
Edition:   Main Market Ed.
Volume:   59
Dimensions:   Width: 13.00cm , Height: 2.60cm , Length: 19.70cm
Weight:   0.353kg
ISBN:  

9781509823437


ISBN 10:   1509823433
Pages:   432
Publication Date:   19 October 2017
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

A writer of extraordinary talent * New York Times Book Review * Quirky and spirited * Independent * Grenville makes awkward atmospheres and fumbling encounters wonderfully vivid. Read it and cringe * Times * It's an outrageously entertaining book - witty, tender and full of a no-nonsense lyricism . . . by alerting us to novels this good, the [Orange] Prize more than justifies its existence * Daily Mail * Mined throughout with little pockets of danger and depth * Guardian * The Idea of Perfection is a very fine novel . . . Grenville's paean to the heroism of imperfection could easily slide into sentimentality. That it doesn't is a testament to her skill. There's nothing trite about the violent, sensual colour in her descriptions of the Australian bush, or her compassion for her eccentric characters * Times * [Grenville is] always self-possessed, graceful, ingratiating . . . an amusing, touching, occasionally macabre tale * Spectator * An exquisite, minutely observed study of two people meeting in their middle years . . . A truly amazing writer -- Rosie Boycott, Chair of the Orange Prize 2001 Judging Panel This is an arresting and penetrating read . . . an honest and compelling celebration of imperfection * Observer * A very fine, albeit terrifying, writer . . . another assured and intelligent performance . . . very funny, skillfully written but also very moving . . . brilliant comic set pieces * Irish Times * A funny, off-beat love story * Daily Mail * Grenville has created a unique exploration of human weaknesses and how combining these weaknesses can make a strength * Irish Independent * Being the only book voted for the Orange Prize shortlist by both the official judging panel, always an all-female affair, and a shadow panel of men sitting for the first time, was testament to The Idea of Perfection's universal appeal * Australian News * A funny and touching romance * Daily Express * An honest and compelling celebration of imperfection * Observer * A truly amazing writer -- Rosie Boycott, chair of the Orange Prize jury Mined throughout with little pockets of danger and depth * Guardian * Outrageously entertaining * Daily Mail * From these two reticent characters, besieged by two lifetimes of regret, doubt and dismay, Grenville manufactures an extraordinary comedy of manners, made all more powerful by her own reticence as a writer * Guardian * Grenville makes awkward atmospheres and fumbling encounters wonderfully vivid. Read it and cringe * The Times *


Grenville makes awkward atmospheres and fumbling encounters wonderfully vivid. Read it and cringe The Times From these two reticent characters, besieged by two lifetimes of regret, doubt and dismay, Grenville manufactures an extraordinary comedy of manners, made all more powerful by her own reticence as a writer Guardian Outrageously entertaining Daily Mail Mined throughout with little pockets of danger and depth Guardian A truly amazing writer -- Rosie Boycott, chair of the Orange Prize jury An honest and compelling celebration of imperfection Observer A funny and touching romance Daily Express Being the only book voted for the Orange Prize shortlist by both the official judging panel, always an all-female affair, and a shadow panel of men sitting for the first time, was testament to The Idea of Perfection's universal appeal Australian News Grenville has created a unique exploration of human weaknesses and how combining these weaknesses can make a strength Irish Independent A funny, off-beat love story Daily Mail A very fine, albeit terrifying, writer ... another assured and intelligent performance ... very funny, skillfully written but also very moving ... brilliant comic set pieces Irish Times This is an arresting and penetrating read ... an honest and compelling celebration of imperfection Observer An exquisite, minutely observed study of two people meeting in their middle years ... A truly amazing writer -- Rosie Boycott, Chair of the Orange Prize 2001 Judging Panel [Grenville is] always self-possessed, graceful, ingratiating ... an amusing, touching, occasionally macabre tale Spectator The Idea of Perfection is a very fine novel ... Grenville's paean to the heroism of imperfection could easily slide into sentimentality. That it doesn't is a testament to her skill. There's nothing trite about the violent, sensual colour in her descriptions of the Australian bush, or her compassion for her eccentric characters Times Mined throughout with little pockets of danger and depth Guardian It's an outrageously entertaining book - witty, tender and full of a no-nonsense lyricism ... by alerting us to novels this good, the [Orange] Prize more than justifies its existence Daily Mail Grenville makes awkward atmospheres and fumbling encounters wonderfully vivid. Read it and cringe Times Quirky and spirited Independent A writer of extraordinary talent New York Times Book Review


Author Information

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s finest writers. Her bestselling novel The Secret River has been published in more than twenty countries. It has received numerous awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The companion memoir, Searching for the Secret River, was released in 2006. The Idea of Perfection won Britain’s prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction, and her other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Lilian’s Story, Dark Places and Joan Makes History.

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