Barbara Comyns Książki

Wstrząsająca powieść, która skłania do refleksji nad trudnościami życiowymi, a jednocześnie odkrywa siłę, która może tkwić w nas samych i objawiać się w najcięższych sytuacjach. Ze snu o raju można zostać wyrwanym prosto do piekła Życie siedemnastoletniej Alice Rowlands nie jest bajką. Jej ojciec – demoniczny weterynarz – zamiast pomagać i leczyć, więzi i dręczy zwierzęta. Co tydzień odwiedza go chłopak od wiwisekcjonisty – przychodzi po szczenięta, które nie znalazły domu. Czas dziewczyny wypełnia sprzątanie, karmienie i wyprowadzenie menażerii ojca. Uległa chora matka nie ma siły ani odwagi, żeby przeciwstawić się tyranowi. Żyją więc razem w jedynym upiornym domu, którego ściany przesiąknięte są strachem i smutkiem. Alice, szukając ucieczki od rzeczywistości, coraz głębiej wycofuje się w świat snów. Szuka schronienia we wspomnieniach i fantazjach. Ma wrażenie, że rozkwitają w niej dziwne, okultystyczne moce… „Córka weterynarza” wciąga od pierwszych stron i nie pozwala oderwać się aż do ostatniego zdania. Jej tematem jest zło, które może się ujawnić w najzwyklejszym człowieku. Przesiąknięta mroczną baśniowością powieść Comyns to historia o przekleństwach niewinności i świecie zdominowanym przez przemoc.

'Our mother rather lost interest in us after the thirst got hold of her and, although our grandfather was vaguely fond of us, he certainly wasn't interested.'

"The four eccentric blue-haired ladies who make money by illegally entertaining elderly gentlemen rent the upstairs rooms at Amy Doll's house, until Amy decides its time for them to move on before they make an impression on her daughter"-- Provided by publisher

A modern reimagining of a classic fairy tale by one of most bewitching, idiosyncratic British writers of the twentieth century. Bella Winter has hit a low. Homeless and jobless, she is the mother of a toddler by a man whose name she didn’t quite catch, and her once pretty face is disfigured by the scar she acquired in a car accident. Friendless and without family, she’s recently disentangled herself from a selfish and indifferent boyfriend and a cruel and indifferent mother. But she shares a quality common to Barbara Comyns’s other heroines: a bracingly unsentimental ability to carry on. Before too long, Bella has found not only a job but a vocation; not only a place to live but a home and a makeshift family. As Comyns’s novel progresses, the story echoes and inverts the Brothers Grimm’s macabre tale The Juniper Tree. Will Bella’s hard-won restoration to life and love come at the cost of the happiness of others?

The story unfolds through the experiences of its resilient heroine, who shares her struggles with her friend Helen, leading to an emotional reaction. Despite the challenges she faces, the narrative maintains a beguiling charm, blending humor and poignancy. Barbara Comyns crafts a tale that, while touching on hardship, ultimately reveals the strength of the human spirit and the complexities of life.

At the beginning of June the river floods, ducks swim through the drawing-room windows and Ebin Willoweed rows his daughters round the submerged garden. But the flood is only the beginning of the village's troubles. All of a sudden the miller goes mad and drowns himself in the river. As the village is afflicted by a mysterious virus, the villagers begin dying one by one. The newspaper asks 'Who will be smitten by the fatal madness next?' Comyns' unique voice weaves a text as wonderful as it is horrible, as beautiful as it is cruel. Originally published in England in 1954, this overlooked small masterpiece is a twisted pandemic tragicomic gem

Barbara Comyns' classic first novel weaves a vivid, funny tale - told in the unique style of her young narrator - of a chaotic and ultimately tragic childhood on the banks of the River Avon.

Set in Edwardian South London, the narrative follows Alice, a young woman with peculiar and mysterious abilities. As she navigates her unconventional life, the story blends wit and emotion, exploring themes of identity and the supernatural. Alice's journey is marked by her unique powers, which set her apart in a society that struggles to understand her, making for a captivating and poignant tale.