It's Jake's birthday. He is sitting in a small plane, being flown over the landscape that has been the backdrop to his life - his childhood, his marriage, his work, his passions. Now he is in his mid-sixties, and he isn't quite the man he used to be. He has lost his wife, his son is in prison, and he is about to lose his past. Jake has Alzheimer's. As the disease takes hold of him, Jake struggles to hold on to his personal story, to his memories and identity, but they become increasingly elusive and unreliable. What happened to his daughter? Is she alive, or long dead? And why exactly ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Advance Reading Copy
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Date Published: 2009-02-17
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: Like New. Bound galley in wraps. Small amount of corner rub, otherwise flawless. Binding tight and square with no spine creases. No marks or damage inside or out. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Date Published: 2009-02-17
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: Very Good. Should be new, but light tear to cover-does not effect text. Save some $$$. Perfectly Good Reading Copy. No writing, no underlining, no highlighting. This is a pre-release collectible paperback with same cover. This book is the same isbn, but is a paperback. Great Copy. Ships Lightning Fast. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Nan a Talese
Date Published: 2009-02-17
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: NEW. Hardcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780385527637. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: VINTAGE Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780224089685ISBN:0224089684
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 336 pages. It's jake's birthday. he is sitting in a plane, being flown over the landscape that has been the backdrop to his life-his childhood, his marriage, his work, his passions. now he is in his early sixties, and he isn't quite the man he used to be. he has lost his wife, his son is in prison, and he is about to lose his past. jake has alzheimer's. (Paperback) read more
Edition: First edition. First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London UK
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: Fine in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 371 p. Audience: General/trade. SIGNED BY AUTHOR and dated with a sentence from the book in the authors hand. Very Fine condition, unread opened only for signing. Man Booker Prize nominated. Brodart protected, ships in a box. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Nan A. Talese
Date Published: 2009-02-17
ISBN-13:9780385527637ISBN:0385527632
Description: New. New Jacket. Green pictorial dust jacket, green paper over boards, maroon cloth spine, gilt spine titles, stated first edition, new condition with just a hint of shelf wear, clean unread content, crisp new binding. read more
Description: Good. Used copy-Because of our high volume, we can not accurately describe each book, so we list the MINIMUM condition you can expect; most are better than the condition listed. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Date Published: 05/02/2009
ISBN-13:9780224086073ISBN:0224086073
Description: Used-Good. Book in good or better condition. Dispatched same day from warehouse. Please email with any questions for quick response. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780224086073ISBN:0224086073
Description: Good. Our aim is to create value for our customers through the provision of low cost, affordable products and an overall satisfying buying experience. read more
"A Booker prize long list nominee, this book details the progression of Alzheimer's disease in the main character, Jake. His memory loss gets progressively worse over the course of the novel. Simply written, but compelling, Jake's attempts to hang on to his memories is heartbreaking. And, honestly, scary. It could happen to any of us. The novel is a meditation on the impermanance of memory, even in those who are healthy. Not a happy book, but a beautifully written one."
"I don't think Samantha Harvey goes too far to identify her protagonist's thoughts, because if she did he would be far too incoherent (see The Sound and Fury) for this novel to be pleasurable reading. That's not to say this story of the fractured four years in which his Alzheimer's condition worsens is a fun read. At least it is possible to follow his revisionist memory, but through these re-worked memories we do sense the devastation."
"This book reminds me of plaid. It goes many places, and it's difficult at times to follow the lines. It is woven intricately, and is difficult to separate one color from another Jake is struggling with Alzheimer's disease. Lyrically written, it shows us the various aspects of his life, his career as an architect, his life with Helen, his wife, his son Henry, his daughter Alice. But, there are other characters as well, Root and Eleanor at the bar, Joy who has moved to America. As my mother has Alzheimer's, I was looking for some insight. I received it from the jumble of thoughts in this book."
"Thankfully I've had no close hand experience of Alzheimer's, so hard to know whether Harvey has offered an accurate portrayal of the disease. But not hard to say that Jake's story is moving and at times almost depressingly painful to read.
As his confusion increases, the more he struggles to piece together the recollections of his life, and for me, the reader, the more lost I became. If Jake had lived a more straightforward life, perhaps the focus could have stayed more on his Alzheimer's. Or without the Alzheimer's more attention could have unravelled his life, loves, family and work.
I was left a little unsatisfied, and a lot depressed by a fairly exclusively bleak story."
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