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The Truth About Lorin Jones (Abacus Books)…
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The Truth About Lorin Jones (Abacus Books) (original 1988; edition 1989)

by Alison Lurie

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398663,514 (3.58)8
In this comedy by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a biographer out to vindicate a neglected female artist learns that the truth is never tidy.   Polly Alter is through with men. Recovering from her divorce, she has taken a year off from her museum job to write a biography of Lorin Jones, a sensitive painter who died young and nearly forgotten. Polly is determined to bring the artist the public acclaim she deserves, making up for the neglect and exploitation Lorin suffered from the men in her life.   The only problem with the story of Lorin's victimhood is that it may not be true. And as Polly wades deeper into her research, growing more attached to her subject, and more lost in the world of two decades past, she begins to realize that no life story is as simple as a biographer might wish.   The National Book Award-shortlisted author of Foreign Affairs writes a daring and "relentless comedy" that novelist Edmund White calls "one of the most entertaining novels I've read in a long time" (The New York Times).   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author's collection.    … (more)
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Title:The Truth About Lorin Jones (Abacus Books)
Authors:Alison Lurie
Info:Abacus (1989), Paperback, 304 pages
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The Truth About Lorin Jones by Alison Lurie (1988)

  1. 10
    The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt (shaunie)
  2. 00
    The Biographer's Tale by A.S. Byatt (KayCliff)
  3. 00
    The Real Life of Sebastian Knight by Vladimir Nabokov (KayCliff)
  4. 00
    Mystical Paths by Susan Howatch (KayCliff)
    KayCliff: In both books, an investigator is given conflicting accounts of someone deceased by their friends and relatives.
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» See also 8 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
I used to covet these Abacus editions of Alison Lurie's books while hanging out in the Old Brompton Road branch of Waterstone's in the early 1990s. The surprising thing is that I never read any of them at the time. I found this one on Darren's shelves, complete with bus ticket bookmark (the 373, October 1992). It's still taken me a long time to get to read it, and Darren says he never did finish it.

It's six years since I read Foreign Affairs and I need to get round to the rest of Lurie's books faster than that! I loved this. Mostly it plods along nicely (which I mean as a compliment!) and then the ending is great. I think I'm better off reading them at 40 than 20 so I'm glad I left them on the shelves for so many years. ( )
  nocto | May 31, 2012 |
When people ask me to recommend a novel set in Key West, this is usually my first answer. Alison Lurie, who has been a winter resident of the island for many years, is her usual sharp, funny self. ( )
  keywestnan | Feb 21, 2011 |
My favorite book by Alison Lurie. ( )
  gregory_gwen | Dec 3, 2010 |
My favorite book by Alison Lurie. ( )
  LTFL_JMLS | Dec 3, 2010 |
Affectionate satire of feminism and leftist orthodoxy.
  mulliner | Jan 17, 2010 |
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Alison Lurieprimary authorall editionscalculated
Marcellino, FredCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Andanzas (108)
detebe (22497)
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Für Barbara Epstein
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Polly Alter used to like men, but she didn't trust them any more, or have very much to do with them.
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I don’t believe that people are ruined by one bad childhood experience. Everybody’s got something they can blame their whole life on if they want to. I got knocked down and stepped on, they can say, and I’m just going to lie here in the mud for sixty years so everybody can see how badly I was hurt. I think you choose your own life. Events happen to you, but it’s up to you to decide what they mean.
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In this comedy by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, a biographer out to vindicate a neglected female artist learns that the truth is never tidy.   Polly Alter is through with men. Recovering from her divorce, she has taken a year off from her museum job to write a biography of Lorin Jones, a sensitive painter who died young and nearly forgotten. Polly is determined to bring the artist the public acclaim she deserves, making up for the neglect and exploitation Lorin suffered from the men in her life.   The only problem with the story of Lorin's victimhood is that it may not be true. And as Polly wades deeper into her research, growing more attached to her subject, and more lost in the world of two decades past, she begins to realize that no life story is as simple as a biographer might wish.   The National Book Award-shortlisted author of Foreign Affairs writes a daring and "relentless comedy" that novelist Edmund White calls "one of the most entertaining novels I've read in a long time" (The New York Times).   This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author's collection.    

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