No One

Gwenaelle Aubry

No One
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Tin House Books
Country
United States
Published
24 January 2012
Pages
112
ISBN
9781935639220

No One

Gwenaelle Aubry

Cleaning up her father’s home after his death, Gwenaelle Aubry discovered a handwritten, autobiographical manuscript with a note on the cover: to novelize. The title was The Melancholic Black Sheep, but the subtitle, An Inconvenient Specter, had been crossed out. The specter? Her father’s disabling bipolar disorder. Aubry had long known that she wanted to write about her father; his death, and his words, gave her the opportunity to explain his many absences – even while he was physically present – and to sculpt her memory of him. No One is a fictional memoir in dictionary form that investigates the many men behind the masks, and a unified portrait evolves. A describes her father’s adopted persona as Antonin Artaud, the poet/playwright; B is for James Bond; and, finally, Z is for Zelig, the Woody Allen character who could transform his appearance to that of the people around him. Letter by letter, Aubry gives shape and meaning to the father who had long disappeared from her view. The whole is a beautifully written, vivid exploration of a particular experience of mental illness and what it can reveal more generally about human experience.

This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 4 weeks

Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.