George Grey has been abroad for forty years. He returns home nursing a vision of an England that has vanished in his absence. His native country appears to him a cold, hostile, almost friendless wasteland and his homecoming from a warm, comfortable life in Africa is a nightmare. George can neither make head nor tail of his daughter, the last remnant of his family, nor she of him. He is immediately restless in his retirement and at once plans to escape -- not for the first time in his life -- in his own boat to sea. Once ...
Read More
George Grey has been abroad for forty years. He returns home nursing a vision of an England that has vanished in his absence. His native country appears to him a cold, hostile, almost friendless wasteland and his homecoming from a warm, comfortable life in Africa is a nightmare. George can neither make head nor tail of his daughter, the last remnant of his family, nor she of him. He is immediately restless in his retirement and at once plans to escape -- not for the first time in his life -- in his own boat to sea. Once aboard his boat, his ark, George conjures up his earlier life -- and the characters and events of the past become subtly, intricately interwoven with the demons and uncertainties of the present. In the crowded theater of his tossing cockpit the crucial scenes of his life are played out: his childhood with unloving and unlovable parents; his wartime courtship and hasty marriage to a social butterfly; his glory days in the navy; his cozy life in West Africa where he passively shares a mistress with the Minister of Communication; and the (inadvertent) crime which both shapes and haunts his existence. These confused daydreams emerge in steady counterpoint to his growing command of his boat and love of the sea. With narrative force as strong and unpredictable as the waves of the sea, and in language as beguiling as the winds that carry George's ark, "Foreign Land" is at once comic and profoundly touching. It is a haunting novel that brilliantly explores not only the inevitable solitude of returning home, but the possibility of discovering the freedom of the sea and escaping the banality of the shore.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. With remainder mark. 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.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Near Fine jacket. Hardback book in very good to near fine condition, unclipped dust jacket [$16.95] is near fine, lite foxing on top page edges, stated-1st american edition published 1985.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good+ in Very Good+ jacket. Inscribed by Author(s) Elisabeth Sifton Books. Gift inscription on ffep. Author inscription on title page. Dust jacket in brodart.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Near Fine jacket. First American edition. Fine in near fine dustwrapper with a touch of edgewear. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
VG+ 0670807672. UNREVISED AND UNPUBLISHED PROOF. A very nice copy with clean, bright interior pages and solid binding. Spine is uncreased. Scarce.; 8vo; 352 pages; RB Lit.
