In her first novel in fifteen years, Helen Garner writes about the joys and limits of female friendship under the transforming pressure of illness.
'The clear-eyed grace of her prose' in this darkly funny and unsparing novel has been hailed by Peter Carey as 'the work of a great writer.' Garlanded with awards, dazzling reviewers around the globe, The Spare Room is destined to be a modern literary classic.
About the Author
Helen Garner was born in Geelong, Australia, in 1942. Her award-winning books include novels, stories, screenplays, and works of nonfiction, including Monkey Grip, The First Stone, and Joe Cinque's Consolation. The Spare Room is her first work of fiction in fifteen years.
She lives in Australia.
Industry Reviews
"My favorite discovery of the year."--Anne Enright "Luminous. . . It reminds us that literature not only can, but must, address the most important subjects, because it does so in ways no other form can."--Claire Messud, "Newsweek""" "Garner is perhaps most easily introduced to new American readers as the Joan Didion of Australia--a person who writes with a diamond drill, depicting human relationships with such brutal clarity they seem to be rendered for the first time."--April Smith, "Los Angeles Times""" "A Molotov cocktail of a book. . . Her voice is full of unexpected humor."--Emily Carter, "Minneapolis Star-Tribune""" "A book so sensitive, sad, funny, and alive that it surely deserves an honored place on many shelves."--Diana Athill, "The Daily Telegraph" (UK) "Two women who have known each other for fifteen years, spending three weeks together with the weight of one crushing disease. How do we calculate what's important in our lives? Highly recommended."--Bette-Lee Fox, "Library Journal" (starred review) "Only great fiction demands us to reset our moral compass and look at our value coordinates all over again. "The Spare Room" achieves this."--Neel Mukherjee, "The Times" (UK) "My favorite discovery of the year." --Anne Enright"Luminous. . . It reminds us that literature not only can, but must, address the most important subjects, because it does so in ways no other form can." --Claire Messud, Newsweek"Garner is perhaps most easily introduced to new American readers as the Joan Didion of Australia--a person who writes with a diamond drill, depicting human relationships with such brutal clarity they seem to be rendered for the first time." --April Smith, Los Angeles Times"A Molotov cocktail of a book. . . Her voice is full of unexpected humor." --Emily Carter, Minneapolis Star-Tribune"A book so sensitive, sad, funny, and alive that it surely deserves an honored place on many shelves." --Diana Athill, The Daily Telegraph (UK)"Two women who have known each other for fifteen years, spending three weeks together with the weight of one crushing disease. How do we calculate what's important in our lives? Highly recommended." --Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal (starred review)"Only great fiction demands us to reset our moral compass and look at our value coordinates all over again. The Spare Room achieves this." --Neel Mukherjee, The Times (UK) My favorite discovery of the year. "Anne Enright" Luminous. . . It reminds us that literature not only can, but must, address the most important subjects, because it does so in ways no other form can. "Claire Messud, Newsweek" Garner is perhaps most easily introduced to new American readers as the Joan Didion of Australia--a person who writes with a diamond drill, depicting human relationships with such brutal clarity they seem to be rendered for the first time. "April Smith, Los Angeles Times" A Molotov cocktail of a book. . . Her voice is full of unexpected humor. "Emily Carter, Minneapolis Star-Tribune" A book so sensitive, sad, funny, and alive that it surely deserves an honored place on many shelves. "Diana Athill, The Daily Telegraph (UK)" Two women who have known each other for fifteen years, spending three weeks together with the weight of one crushing disease. How do we calculate what's important in our lives? Highly recommended. "Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal (starred review)" Only great fiction demands us to reset our moral compass and look at our value coordinates all over again. "The Spare Room" achieves this. "Neel Mukherjee, The Times (UK)"" ""The Spare Room" is a perfect novel, imbued with all Garner's usual clear-eyed grace but with some other magnificent dimension that hides between the lines of her simple conversational voice. How is it that she can enter this heart-breaking territory--the dying friend who comes to stay--and make it not only bearable, but glorious, and funny? There is no answer except: Helen Garner is a great writer; "The Spare Room" is a great book."--Peter Carey"I very much admire "The Spare Room," It's cleanly-written, sharp, with the authority of lived experience but an artist's penetration of the issues. It provides a portrait very hard to erase, of a child's ego trapped in a failing and ageing body, and it raises uncomfortable questions: what are the limits of friendship? Who will care for a generation that thought it would never get old?"--Hilary Mantel, author of "Beyond Black "and "Giving Up the Ghost""Swift, beautiful, and relentless, "The Spare Room "is a brutal novel in the best sense."--Alice Sebold
