Oxygen - by Andrew Miller (Paperback)

About the Book

It is the summer of 1997. Alec Valentine is returning to England to care for his ailing mother, Alice, a task that only reinforces his deep sense of inadequacy. Miller pens an intimate, compelling meditation that evokes an extraordinary range of emotions and insights--"Oxygen" lives and breathes beyond the final page.

Book Synopsis

It is the summer of 1997. Alec Valentine is returning to England to care for his ailing mother, Alice, a task that only reinforces his deep sense of inadequacy. In San Francisco, his older brother Larry prepares to come home as well, preoccupied with an acting career that is sliding toward sleaze and a marriage that is faltering. In Paris, on the other hand, the Hungarian playwright Lászlo Lázár seems to have it all--critical acclaim, a loving boyfriend, and a close circle of friends--yet even he is haunted by guilt and tragedy. For each of them the time has come to assess the turns taken, the opportunities missed. And for each there will be one last chance to break free from the past and find redemption in a moment of clarity and courage.
Andrew Miller has given us an intimate, compelling meditation that evokes an extraordinary range of emotions and insights--Oxygen lives and breathes beyond the final page.

From the Back Cover

"Exquisitely detailed...A real talent." --Entertainment Weekly
It is the summer and Alec Valentine is returning to England to care for his ailing mother, Alice. In San Francisco, his older brother Larry prepares to come home as well, preoccupied with an acting career that is sliding toward sleaze and a marriage that is faltering. In Paris, on the other hand, the Hungarian playwright Laszlo Lazar seems to have it all--critical acclaim, a loving boyfriend, and a close circle of friends--yet even he is haunted by guilt and tragedy. For each of them the time has come to assess the turns taken, the opportunities missed, and the advent of one last chance to break free from the past and find redemption.
Intimate, compelling and evocative of an extraordinary range of emotions and insights, Oxygen lives and breathes beyond the final page.
A Whitbread Award finalist
"Elegantly written . . . an exhilarating journey through personal histories and a knowing glimpse at the ways we hold ourselves responsible for saving the people we love." --People
"Poignant, probing...grounded in a vivid sense of place and character, and enlivened by a sly, stoical wit that keeps cropping up where you least expect it. A bold, bracing book." --The Chicago Tribune
"Lovely, striking, strange, evocative. " --The Washington Post Book World
Born in England in 1960, Andrew Miller has lived in Spain, Japan, Ireland, and France. His first novel, Ingenious Pain, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the International IMPAC Award. He lives in London.
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Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR OXYGEN

"It grabs your attention to the last page."--Daily Express (UK)

"An admirably restrained piece of writing, tender, funny, witty, profound. Oxygen confirms Miller's exceptional gifts and leaves one gasping for more."
--The Sunday Herald (UK)

PRAISE FOR INGENIOUS PAIN
"Miller's genius is that there is . . . a surprise in nearly every sentence,
and sometimes a miracle, too."--The Boston Globe
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