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Loading... After Claude (New York Review Books Classics) (original 1973; edition 2010)by Iris Owens (Author), Emily Prager (Introduction)
Work InformationAfter Claude by Iris Owens (1973)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Protagonist is a badass crazy bitch who I was rooting for and found pretty funny and sad. Enjoyed the book. I heard it's extremely autobiographical, but I'd like to believe she had all sorts of meaning and anger fueling this fictional character. The tuna. Oh god. Also, it was weirdly insightful about that quiet disdain felt in relationships. The breakup scenes were painfully nuts and accurate. ( ) Harriet is leaving her boyfriend, Claude, after six months together. Or at least that is what we are expected to understand of the situation, only it transpires that Harriet is a lot more work than she makes herself out to be... The title, 'After Claude,' can be read in two ways (always a good sign with titles). Does it mean 'what comes after Claude', or does it mean 'I'm chasing after Claude'? Sometimes the book is too clever for its own good, and Harriet's overbearing personality weighs a little heavy - but on its own terms I would say that the novel is a success. If you ever wondered what 'Portnoy's Complaint' would be like if it was written by a woman, you'd have 'After Claude.' This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. In short, I thought this book was terrible. I didn't find Harriett funny at all - she is awful, as are every single other character in the book. It was originally written in 1973, I think, and much of the humor (especially the constant use of the word "fag") does not translate to today. A rare miss from one of my most trusted publishers, NYRB Classics. no reviews | add a review
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"Harriet has left her boyfriend Claude, the French rat. At least that is how she prefers to frame the matter. In fact, after yet one more argument, Claude has just instructed Harriet to move out of his Greenwich Village apartment not that she has any intention of doing so. To the contrary, she will stay and exact her vengeance or such is her intention until Claude has her unceremoniously evicted. Still, though moved out, Harriet is not about to move on. Not in any way. Girlfriends circle around to give advice, but Harriet only takes offense, and you can understand why. Because mad and maddening as she may be, Harriet sees past the polite platitudes that everyone else is content to spout and live by. She is an unblinkered, unbuttoned, unrelenting, and above all bitingly funny prophetess of all that is wrong with women's lives and hearts until, in a surprise twist, she finds a savior in a dark room at the Chelsea Hotel." No library descriptions found.
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumIris Owens's book After Claude was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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