In this deeply etched and haunting memoir, Vivian Gornick tells the story of her lifelong battle with her mother for independence. There have been numerous books about mother and daughter, but none has dealt with this closest of filial relations as directly or as ruthlessly. Gornick's groundbreaking book confronts what Edna O'Brien has called "the principal crux of female despair": the unacknowledged Oedipal nature of the mother-daughter bond. Born and raised in the Bronx, the daughter of "urban peasants," Gornick grows ...
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In this deeply etched and haunting memoir, Vivian Gornick tells the story of her lifelong battle with her mother for independence. There have been numerous books about mother and daughter, but none has dealt with this closest of filial relations as directly or as ruthlessly. Gornick's groundbreaking book confronts what Edna O'Brien has called "the principal crux of female despair": the unacknowledged Oedipal nature of the mother-daughter bond. Born and raised in the Bronx, the daughter of "urban peasants," Gornick grows up in a household dominated by her intelligent but uneducated mother's romantic depression over the early death of her husband. Next door lives Nettie, an attractive widow whose calculating sensuality appeals greatly to Vivian. These women with their opposing models of femininity continue, well into adulthood, to affect Gornick's struggle to find herself in love and in work. As Gornick walks with her aged mother through the streets of New York, arguing and remembering the past, each wins the listener's admiration: the caustic and clear-thinking daughter, for her courage and tenacity in really talking to her mother about the most basic issues of their lives, and the still powerful and intuitively wise old woman, who again and again proves herself her daughter's mother. Unsparing, deeply courageous, Fierce Attachments is one of the most remarkable documents of family feeling that has been written, a classic that helped start the memoir boom and remains one of the most moving examples of the genre.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Shows minimal wear such as frayed or folded edges, minor rips and tears, and/or slightly worn binding. May have stickers and/or contain inscription on title page. No observed missing pages. Different cover than the one shown.
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Seller's Description:
Fair. Shows wear such as frayed or folded edges, rips and tears, and/or worn binding. May have stickers and/or contain inscription on title page. No observed missing pages. Different cover than the one shown.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
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Seller's Description:
Good. There is either a name, note, or inscription on the inside cover. We flipped through this book and didn't notice any notes or underlines. The dust jacket shows normal wear and tear. Fast Shipping-Each order powers our free bookstore in Chicago and sending books to Africa!
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Fair. 1987 1st printing w/ alt cover. Pages are mostly clean! The dust jacket is in rough shape, shows significant wear/stains. This is a hardcover copy There is also staining on the text block edges Fast Shipping-Each order powers our free bookstore in Chicago and sending books to Africa!
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Seller's Description:
-1. Pristine ARC, with publishers letter. Text block, boards and binding are pristine. Dust wrapper in fine, like new condition. Well packaged and promptly shipped from California. Partnered with Friends of the Library since 2010.