Coral Glynn - by Peter Cameron (Paperback)

About the Book

A period novel observed through a refreshingly gimlet eye, "Coral Glynn" explores how quickly need and desire can blossom into love and just as quickly transform into something less categorical. Borrowing from themes and characters prevalent in the work of mid-20th-century British women writers, Cameron examines how we live and how we love.

Book Synopsis

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

In the spring of 1950, Coral Glynn arrives at an isolated mansion in the English countryside to nurse the elderly Edith Hart. There, Coral meets Hart House's odd inhabitants: Mrs. Prence, the perpetually disgruntled housekeeper, and Major Clement Hart, her charge's war-ravaged son. When a child's game goes violently awry in the nearby woods, a great shadow--love, perhaps--descends upon its residents. Other seemingly random events--a torn dress, a missing ring, a lost letter--propel Coral and Clement precipitously into the mysterious thicket of marriage.

Written with his unique sense of wit and empathy, Peter Cameron's brilliant novel is a stunning exploration of how need and desire can blossom into love--and just as quickly transform into something less categorical.

Review Quotes

"A beautiful, absorbing story of love missed, love lost, love found." --The New York Times Book Review

"Brilliantly written...Peter Cameron [is] an elegantly acute and mysteriously beguiling writer." --Richard Eder, The Boston Globe

"A riveting tale with an often heartbreakingly pure prose style...Scenes unfold with the exquisite design of a one-act play, with props skillfully deployed to comic and poignant effect." --Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

"Get swept up in this subtle and complicated tale." --Entertainment Weekly

"[An] intricate tale taut with suspense...As always, Cameron's prose is something to savor. In his hands, even an ordinary moment can seem extraordinary." --Bharti Kirchner, The Seattle Times

"Haunting... Coral Glynn is like an engrossing black-and-white movie for a rainy afternoon--a tale of clouded hearts, hidden motives, and dangerous affections." --Mark Doty, More

"A twenty-first-century American master." --Christopher R. Beha, Bookforum

About the Author

Peter Cameron is the author of Andorra (FSG, 1997), The City of Your Final Destination (FSG, 2002), and Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You (FSG, 2007). His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Grand Street, and The Paris Review. He lives in New York City.