- Mass Market Paperback: 1 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Paperbacks; Reprint edition (Sep 1 1988)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140100911
- ISBN-13: 978-0140100914
- Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #719,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"Baxter does a masterful job of combining form with function in his first novel," said PW of this story of an astrophysicist's awkward visit to the home of her car-salesman brother. "This imaginatively conceived, evocative novel will hold the reader's attention from first to last."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
As an astrophysicist Dorsey Welch studies the origins of the universe and the gravitational forces that make it cohere. Similarly, this novel moves backward in time to trace the evolving antagonisms and the bonds of love between Dorsey and her brother Hugh. At one point Hugh says to his sister, "You always go . . . I always stay," and this simple statement sums up their radically different lives. Hugh remains in the small town where they were born, lives in the house inherited from his parents, and sells Buicks. Dorsey travels to California, bears the child of an eccentric professor, and marries an even more eccentric actor. Bridging all these differences, however, is a powerfully evoked sense of family. Baxter's style is sharp and elegant, and his characters are convincing. Albert E. Wilhelm, English Dept., Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Know These People Well,
By
This review is from: First Light (Mass Market Paperback)
Years ago, a friend read this book, then immediately gave it to me because, she told me, I'm also an astrophysicist who once lived in Buffalo, NY. Those facts are irrelevant -- I would have loved this book in any event. Charles Baxter created the people in his book so exquisitely that I always feel I am there, traveling along in the story with them whenever I read it. I've never had such a close personal experiences with written characters. He defines and develops his people as they alternately live in their present, and in their receding pasts; his creativity results in characterizations that are very strong. I find myself unexpectedly writing this review after wanting to check if the book is still available; I'm not surprised to find that it is. And happily for me, as my copy is in pieces.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully told family drama,
By A Customer
This review is from: First Light (Mass Market Paperback)
Baxter begins this book with a glimpse into the life of a family in a state of static malaise. Rather than take the story forward he begins drifting backward in time, layering in incidents and moments that start to explain how the family got that way. In the hands of many writers this would feel like a gimick, but Baxter has the grace and skill to pull it off beautifully. With each chapter our questions are answered and our understanding grows.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Even better on the second reading,
By A Customer
This review is from: First Light (Mass Market Paperback)
I just reread First Light, and it's even better on the second reading, in part because the reverse chronology takes on a whole new dimension when you have some recollection of what has happened earlier. It's a sensitive story of a brother-sister relationship, with all the resentment, competition and love that such relationships entail, and it's told by a man with an eye for detail and a prose style just about unmatched in contemporary American fiction. Enjoyed A Feast of Love too, but I think First Light is always going to be my favorite Baxter novel.
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