Last things

Description

"Grace's father believes in science and builds his daughter a dollhouse with lights that really work. Grace's mother takes her skinny-dipping in the lake and teaches her about African hyena men who devour their wives in their sleep. Grace's world, of fact and fiction, marvels and madness, is slowly unraveling because her family is coming apart before her eyes. Now eight-year-old Grace must choose between her two very different, very flawed parents, a choice that will take her on a dizzying journey, away from her home in Vermont to the boozy, flooded streets of New Orleans--and into the equally wondrous and frightening realm of her own imagination. With eloquence and compassion, Jenny Offill weaves a luminous story of a wounded family and of a young girl yearning to understand the difference between fiction, fact, and hope. A novel of vibrant imagination and searing intelligence, Last Things is a stunning literary achievement"-- "To eight-year-old Grace Davitt, the world is full of strange wonders. Through the eyes of her mother, Anna--an ornithologist who speaks five languages--their small lakeside town in Vermont becomes a glittering mystery filled with secret tongues, monsters in the lake, and birthday parties for the Earth. Anna's untamed spirit stands in sharp contrast to Grace's father, a chemistry teacher who examines his surroundings through the lens of rationalism and order. As Grace's family begins to fall apart and she finds that she must choose between her parents, her conflicting loyalties take her on a remarkable journey that spans all corners of the country--and of her own boundless imagination"--

Description

Grace's mother tells her there's a monster in the nearby lake and teaches her about African hyena men who devour their wives in their sleep. Grace's father, a dedicated scientist, tells her that monsters don't exist and explains to her the stark truths of the Big Bang. Eight-year-old Grace's world, spun from fact and fiction, marvels and madness, is slowly unraveling. She is torn between her two very different, very flawed parents, and sorts out her conflicting loyalties on a dizzying journey that takes her away from her home in Vermont to the boozy, flooded streets of New Orleans--and into the equally wondrous and frightening realm of her own imagination.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Last thingsDell2000-01-01
• Last thingsVintage Books2015-01-01