Heidi Julavits creëert verhalen die zich verdiepen in complexe relaties en de ingewikkelde psychologische diepten van haar personages. Haar proza wordt gekenmerkt door scherpe inzichten in de menselijke geest en maakt gebruik van onconventionele verteltechnieken. Door middel van haar romans en korte verhalen verkent ze thema's als identiteit, herinnering en de onderlinge verbondenheid van menselijke ervaringen. Julavits beoogt haar werk te doordrenken met emotionele betekenis en onderwerpen te behandelen met een zwaartekracht die ze boven louter commentaar verheft.
A New York Times Notable Book Rereading her childhood diaries, Heidi Julavits hoped to find incontrovertible proof that she was always destined to be a writer. Instead, they “revealed me to possess the mind of a phobic tax auditor.” Thus was born a desire to try again, to chronicle her daily life—now as a forty-something woman, wife, mother, and writer. A meditation on time and self, youth and aging, friendship and romance, faith and fate, and art and ambition, in The Folded Clock one of the most gifted prose stylists in American letters explodes the typically confessional diary form with her trademark humor, honesty, and searing intelligence.
An insightful meditation on time, relationships and identity, The Folded Clock is a funny, thoughtful and inquisitive diary for fans of Olivia Laing and Jenny Offill
Amidst clouds of dust and with a sense of purpose born of the Great Depression, Bena Jonsson -- young mother, physician's wife -- arrives in the desert town of Pueblo, Colorado, and immediately sets about creating a new life for her family. As the days unfold, however, she is quietly haunted by niggling doubts and an insidious loneliness, so she gratefully seizes the chance to explore her stalled career in journalism and accepts an unpaid position with the local paper. But bad omens begin stacking up like charms on a bracelet, and when Bena meets a prostitute accused of infanticide, her defence of the woman triggers a chain of events with unfathomable consequences. Written with an impeccable sense of history and full of impending doom, The Mineral Palace is a stylish corruption of the Medea myth -- a tragic love story and an indictment of society's treatment of untameable, liberated women.
The narrative explores the profound transition of motherhood as Heidi Julavits reflects on her son approaching adulthood amidst societal turmoil, including campus rape allegations. This personal journey prompts her to confront her identity as a mother and the challenges of preparing her son for an uncertain future. Rooted in her own Maine childhood experiences, the book intertwines family dynamics with broader cultural and philosophical questions, ultimately revealing that personal growth and understanding must stem from within.
From the acclaimed novelist of The Folded Clock and founding editor of The Believer magazine comes a "sharp-eyed, sardonic, hilarious" novel (The New York Times Book Review) about grief, female rivalry, and the furious power of a daughter’s love. Julia Severn is a talented student at an elite institute for psychics. When Julia’s mentor, the legendary Madame Ackerman, grows jealous of her protégée’s talents, she subjects Julia to the painful humiliation of reliving her mother’s suicide . . . and then launches a desperate psychic attack. But Julia’s gifts, though a threat to her teacher, prove an asset to others. Soon she’s recruited to track down a missing person who might have a connection to her mother. As Julia sifts through ghosts and astral clues, everything she thought she knew about her mother is called into question, and she discovers that her ability to know the minds of others—including her own—goes far deeper than she ever imagined.
The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance and sudden reappearance of sixteen-year-old Mary from her all-girls prep school. Her absence and return create deep emotional impacts on those around her, including her mother and the psychologist tasked with her treatment. The narrative explores themes of trauma, the complexities of mental health, and the ripple effects of a single event on a community. The author, known for The Mineral Palace, delves into the intricate relationships and emotional struggles faced by the characters.
Ein magisches Buch über das Abenteuer, das wir 'Leben' nennen: Heidi Julavits erforscht die eigene Existenz und bringt dabei das Außergewöhnliche im Alltäglichen zum Leuchten: radikal persönlich, zutiefst wahrhaftig und hinreißend komisch. Heidi Julavits, Mitte vierzig, wohnhaft in New York, Autorin, Mutter und Ehefrau, beschließt, dem Leben auf die Spur zu kommen. Und da das Leben nun mal zum großen Teil aus vermeintlich Alltäglichem besteht, fängt sie genau dort an: bei den kleinen Dingen, wie Gesprächen mit Freunden, einem Wespenstich, der ein Telefonat durchkreuzt, dem Besuch einer Ausstellung unter Zeitdruck und kuriosen Erlebnissen mit eBay-Verkäufern. Dabei wird der Alltag auf überraschende Weise zum Auslöser von Auseinandersetzungen mit der Zeit, dem Älterwerden, dem Wesen von Beziehungen, von Freundschaft und Liebe. Clever, unerschrocken und mit einem hintersinnigen Humor stellt sich Heidi Julavits den großen Fragen, die untrennbar mit einem jeden Leben verbunden sind: Warum sind wir auf der Welt? Und wenn wir schon mal hier sind – was machen wir daraus?
'Bena parkte den alten Ford Touring vor dem verlassenen Mineralpalast und ging langsam an den Säulen vorbei durch die kupferne Eingangstür. Vor einem ausgetrockneten Teich, aus dem die Statue einer Nymphe aufragte, blieb sie stehen und drückte ihr Baby fest an sich. Zum ersten Mal seit Wochen fühlte sie sich geborgen.' Als Bena mit ihrem Mann Ted und dem kleinen Sohn nach Pueblo, Colorado, zieht, hofft sie auf einen Neuanfang. Aber die kleine, von der Rezession gezeichnete Stahlarbeiterstadt lebt im Schatten einer längst vergangenen Pracht, deren Symbol der alte, verfallene Mineralpalast ist. Bena, die in der neuen Umgebung mit ihrer eigenen tragischen Vergangenheit, mit der seltsamen Apathie ihres Kindes und einer schwierigen Ehe konfrontiert wird, findet in seinen Mauern Zuflucht. In diesem großen Epos über Hoffnung, Enttäuschung und Sehnsucht zeichnet Heidi Julavits das Bild einer ungewöhnlichen Frau, die an das Schicksal glaubt, aber das ihre nicht einfach hinnehmen will.
Come recita la testata del sito Web della "Timothy McSweeney è un enigma avvolto in un mistero avvolto nella pancetta".Ma chi era davvero Timothy McSweeney? Una delle possibili risposte si trova nel sesto numero, dove si "Timothy McSweeney era un uomo che aveva l'abitudine di scrivere lettere al futuro fondatore della rivista quando questi, ancora bambino e poi adolescente, abitava fuori Chicago. Le lettere, vergate con una calligrafia strana e bellissima, oltre che a lui erano indirizzate alla madre, una McSweeney, e insistevano sul fatto che il loro autore fosse imparentato con questa famiglia di Chicago". La spiegazione va avanti per un bel po' e ve la risparmiamo. Tanto, chissà quanto c'è di vero e quanto è frutto dell'immaginazione.Per quel che ne sappiamo, la rivista è nata a San Francisco nel 1998 a opera di quel formidabile genio di Dave Eggers, e da subito ha rivoluzionato il mondo delle lettere e delle riviste diventando un polo di attrazione per gli autori più famosi (e a volte anche più sconosciuti). Vogliamo fare qualche nome? Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, David Foster Wallace, Michael Chabon, Roddy Doyle, William Vollmann, e si potrebbe continuare fino a uscire dai bordi della copertina.In questa antologia abbiamo pensato bene di raccogliere i pezzi firmati da alcune delle intrepide scrittrici che hanno contribuito a rendere la rivista uno dei luoghi più fantastici in cui perdersi. Da Zadie Smith a Heidi Julavits, da Lydia Davis a A.M. Homes, da Susan Minot a Sheila Heti etc. etc., non avrete che l'imbarazzo della storie brevi, memorie personali, saggi e altro ancora non solo saranno per voi, cari lettori, fonte di soddisfazione e di divertimento, ma soprattutto faranno di voi delle persone incredibilmente, oscenamente, inguaribilmente cool. E oggi come oggi, scusateci se è poco.
