_______________ 'In a literary age of diet and dearth, Tartt invites us to feast ... the opening tragedy strikes a note of rich, flamboyant Southern Gothic that resonates throughout' - Independent 'You will rarely have read better ... Because of Tartt's mastery of suspense, this book will grip readers all the way through to its bitter end' - Guardian 'Destined to become a special kind of classic - a book that precocious young readers pluck from their parents' shelves and devour with surreptitious eagerness, thrilled to ...
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_______________ 'In a literary age of diet and dearth, Tartt invites us to feast ... the opening tragedy strikes a note of rich, flamboyant Southern Gothic that resonates throughout' - Independent 'You will rarely have read better ... Because of Tartt's mastery of suspense, this book will grip readers all the way through to its bitter end' - Guardian 'Destined to become a special kind of classic - a book that precocious young readers pluck from their parents' shelves and devour with surreptitious eagerness, thrilled to discover a writer who seems at once to read their minds and to offer up the sweet-and-sour fruits of exotic, forbidden knowledge' - New York Times Book Review _______________ Donna Tartt's huge selling second novel, follow up to the worldwide bestseller The Secret History The sunlit rails gleamed like dark mercury, arteries branching out silver from the switch points; the old telegraph poles were shaggy with kudzu and Virginia creeper and, above them, rose the water tower, its surface all washed out by the sun. Harriet, cautiously, stepped towards it in the weedy clearing. Around and around it she walked, around the rusted metal legs. One day is never, ever discussed by the Cleve family. The day that nine-year-old Robin was found hanging by the neck from a tree in their front garden. Twelve years later the family are no nearer to uncovering the truth of what happened to him. Inspired by Houdini and Robert Louis Stevenson, twelve-year-old Harriet sets out to find her brother's murderer - and punish him. But what starts out as a child's game soon becomes a dangerous journey into the menacing underworld of a small Mississippi town.
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Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $3.53, poor condition, Sold by Booksalvation rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Manchester, LANCASHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2003 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Seller's Description:
-1. Outline: -In a small Mississippi town Harriet Cleve Dusfresnes grows up in the shadow of her brother who--when she was only a baby--was found hanging dead from a black tupelo tree in their yard. His killer was never identified nor has his family in the years since recovered from the tragedy. For Harriet who has grown up largely unsupervised in a world of her own imagination her brother is a link to a glorious past she has only heard stories about or glimpsed in photograph albums. Fiercely determined precocious far beyond her 12 years and steeped in the adventurous literature of Stevenson Kipling and Conan Doyle she resolves one summer to solve the murder and exact her revenge. Harriet`s sole ally in this quest her friend Hely is devoted to her but what they soon encounter has nothing to do with child`s play: it is dark adult and all too menacing. A revelation of familial longing and sorrow The Little Friend explores crime and punishment as well as the hidden complications and consequences that hinder the pursuit of truth and justice. A novel of breathtaking ambition and power it is rich in moral paradox insights into human frailty and storytelling brilliance. -> the publisher of this PAPERBACK book is Bloomsbury Publishing The date of this copy is 2003 booksalvation have grade it as Poor and it will be shipped from our UK warehouse This book is from the Series. Shipping is Free for UK buyers and at a reasonable charge for buyer outside the UK.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $3.85, very good condition, Sold by Jenhams rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dundee, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2003 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
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Very good. This book is in stock now, in our UK premises. Photos of our books are available on request (the pictures you see on Alibris are NOT our own).
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $5.93, very good condition, Sold by Yare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Great Yarmouth, NORFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2003 by Bloomsbury.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $7.41, very good condition, Sold by Yare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Great Yarmouth, NORFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2005 by Bloomsbury.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $7.41, good condition, Sold by Yare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Great Yarmouth, NORFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2002 by Bloomsbury.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $10.22, very good condition, Sold by Roger Lucas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Horncastle, Lincs, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2002 by Bloomsbury Books.
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Very Good in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 1st UK edition, large 8vo, 555pp, VG Copy in VG DJ a shade faded at spine; one of a handful of women writers at the top of their profession.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $12.93, new condition, Sold by Books2anywhere rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fairford, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2005 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $17.26, new condition, Sold by Books2anywhere rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fairford, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by Bolinda Publishing.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Add this copy of The Little Friend to cart. $20.14, very good condition, Sold by Alpha 2 Omega Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southampton, HANTS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
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Very good in Very good jacket. VGC. Bloomsbury, 2002. First UK edition-3rd printing(10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3). Black hardback(a couple of marks, crease and light shelf wear on the cover and spine, tan lettering to the spine) with Dj(some nicks and creases on the Dj cover), both in VGC. Nice and clean pages with some ink marks and nicks on the outer edges, light shelf wear inside the edges of the Dj cover. The book with is in VGC except for the marks on the cover.556pp. Price un-clipped. Heavy book. This is another paragraph Product Description: Although the Cleves generally revelled in every detail of their family history, the events of 'the terrible Mother's Day' were never, ever discussed. On that day, nine-year-old Robin Cleves, loved by all for his whims and peculiarities, was found hanging by the neck from a rope slung over a black-tupelo tree in his own garden. Eleven years later, the mystery-with its taunting traces of foul play-was no nearer a solution than it had been on the day it happened. This isn't good enough for Robin's youngest sister Harriet. Only a baby when the tragedy occurred, but now twelve-years-old and steeped in the adventurous daring of favourite writers such as Stevenson, Kipling and Conan Doyle, Harriet is ready and eager to find and punish her brother's killer. Her closest friend Hely-who would try anything to make Harriet love him-has sworn allegiance to her call for revenge. But the world these plucky twelve-year-olds are to encounter has nothing to do with child's play: it is dark, adult and all too menacing. In Donna Tartt's Mississippi, the sense of place and sense of the past mingle redolently with rich human drama to create a collective alchemy. Here eccentric great aunts bustle about graciously despite faded fortunes and a child's inquiring mind not only unearths telling family artefacts, but stirs up a neighbourhood nest of vipers and larceny. The Little Friend is a profoundly involving novel which demonstrates how the imaginary life embraces what literature we read, what special places we inhabit and what kindred souls we recognize, to help crack open even the darkest secrets life has hiding for us.
Tartt's second novel was well worth the wait. Part Flannery O'Connor, part Harper Lee, THE LITTLE FRIEND is beautifully written. It's moody, tense, vivid, and incredibly satisfying. You must read this book.
bookboy
Jun 19, 2007
Don't expect another Secret History
If you were one of those who read Tartt's brilliant The Secret History and waited ten years for her second novel don't expect another rehash of the same.
Instead, Donna Tartt offers up a sultry story of Southern mores reminiscent of Harper Lee or Carson McCullers. Donna Tartt (whom I happened to meet at a reading for this novel) said that she is highly influenced by Flannery O'Connor and if you're familiar with O'Connor's work you will know that O'Connor writes very dark material and has a tendency of ending her stories in a distinctly trademark manner.
Tartt follows suit and the only beef I could find with the novel is trying to pinpoint exactly what decade this occurs. One scene describes a character as having the afro of a Black man, white bell-bottoms and a corduroy suit jacket giving the feeling that this takes place in the early to mid 70s. Another scene has a character making a brief reference to the yellow fever outbreak back in '79 making it possible for this novel to take place in the early 80s. I'm hard pressed to tell when The Little Friend occurs.
Plot isn't the driving force here, instead the characters are. If you prefer plot development over character development then this isn't the novel for you. Essentially, this is a novel about loss: the loss of childhood innocence, the loss of loved ones, the loss of friendships. Tartt's prose is so intense, I could feel Harriet's sense of hopelessness and despair as the world she knows changes and falls apart around her. Who doesn't remember as a child when you begin to understand the harsh realities of life? When you're faced with Death for the first time? When you begin to realize that you're no longer a child anymore and that the world can be an ugly place?
The story in a nutshell: Harriet's brother is murdered when she is a baby. 12 years later her family has fallen apart. Dad is never home, on the verge on leaving the family and Mom is a alcoholic stuck in time not fully recovered from the murder of her son. 12 year old Harriet decides if she can slove the murder she can restore her family. Soon after she opens up a Pandora's box of secrets and suspense.
Donna Tartt once again writes a thought provoking and compelling novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. Her characters are very real and she tells a gripping, page turning, roller coaster ride of a tale with a nailbiting climax. Donna Tartt truly is an inspiration to me (which I had the pleasure of telling her). I highly anticipate her next novel.
