August Frost: A Novel [Paperback]

Monique Roffey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2004

August Chalmin is a tall, pale, painfully shy young man with blood-orange hair and sun-shy eyes, who hides his awkwardness working behind the counter of the gourmet deli in London's Shepherd's Bush neighborhood. One winter day he finds a rash on his arm that resembles the crystalline frost on his windowpane. Later, snow begins to fall around his head and his fingers turn blue. Is it some rare disease that has triggered this strange reaction, or the appearance in the neighborhood of his mother's old lover Cosmo? Could it even be an allergy to the deli's new orange cheese, which seems to mock his own coloring? As Cosmo taunts him with doubts about the identity of his father, August's body changes with the seasons. Through a year's wonderful metamorphosis-through snowstorm, heat wave, eclipse, and a search for the truth-August changes into himself. August Frost is an enchanting book of extraordinary freshness and sensuality.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An imaginative fable grounded in realistic detail, this first novel follows the metamorphosis of August Chalmin, a socially awkward, lonely 30-something Londoner with "upright blood-orange hair which limbo danced crazily from his head, as though a madman lived there, leaping from a burning attic." Such vibrant language is one of the charms of the novel, along with its highly original premise: over the course of a year, August's body undergoes a series of peculiar changes tied to the seasons. His skin turns blue and an icicle dangles from his ear in the fall and winter. In the spring, his body begins to bud, sprouting small leaves and branches. August wants to believe these developments are some kind of allergic reaction, perhaps to a cheese in the gourmet delicatessen where he works. But the real cause is the unexpected appearance of Cosmo Rodriguez-a former lover of his mother's, and a menacing figure from August's childhood, who recently moved into the neighborhood. Raised haphazardly on a commune by his mother, Olivia, August has always believed his real father was dead, but begins to worry that Cosmo, whom he's never liked, might be the one. The search for his origins propels this oddly convincing story of transformation, which leaves August finally feeling "good in his skin" for the first time in his emotionally stunted life. Mournful, quietly suspenseful and gently surreal, August's story is a haunting-if occasionally slow-moving-whimsy that marks the arrival of a talented newcomer.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Published to lofty praise in Great Britain, Roffey's debut novel is an ambitious tale of growth and self-discovery about a peculiar 30-year-old Londoner named August. He has orange hair and pale eyes and is "six feet four in his skin, elbows sharp as corncobs, collarbones protruding like the jaws of a great fish." After watching a snow flurry come and go, August is struck dumb as the flakes continue to fall--but only around him. It soon becomes clear August is something of a walking weather station; his body actually changes with the passing months and seasons. All the while, he keeps quiet about his odd metamorphoses--plagued by questions about his father and the return of his mother's soft-brained boyfriend, his body's eccentricities are all that keep him whole. Roffey is an evocative writer, and her book has all the best qualities of a fanciful work of invention. It is rich and layered and sophisticated in a way that not enough novels are. Kevin Canfield
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (April 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802140467
• ISBN-13: 978-0802140463
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,473,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A magical highly descriptive book, June 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: August Frost (Hardcover)

August Frost was a book I picked up and read one sunny Sunday afternoon sitting in my hammock. I was pleasantly surprised how easy the reading was and soon I was immersed in August's world.

I am sure this book is not for everyone. It has made me look at other writers in the genre of magical reality. In the past I have stayed with mainstream SF and fantasy. A comment a friend of mine made was that her vivid description of the buds growing on his body kind of freaked him out. Especially the part where he plucked them off his body and promptly put them in his mouth like a succulent olive with the texture of a brussel sprout. In my case I think there was a fascination, somewhat like August's with the changes in his body. It is his body and mind that grows with the seasons.

Her writing, which is sensual, revolves around food, colours and rich metaphors. I enjoyed the creation of August and the convolutions of his mind as we first learn who he is and then with him learn who he is becoming. August reminds me of Thomas Covenant the "un believer" who truly puts himself down but ends up the hero anyway.

This is an easy reading novel with many underlying messages, which if you take the time lead you to some thought. The ending threw me as it jumped up and was upon me very suddenly. I thought I had missed it thus I read it again. Monique leaves us to form our own opinions in the end, which is something many novels have not done for me. This is her legacy to us to think and form our own conclusions as to August's future.

If your looking for a magical, highly descriptive read with a few messages thrown in then I recommend this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book stays with you, September 27, 2004

By 

Marianne (Reading, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: August Frost (Hardcover)

Beautifully written story in which the descriptions are so vivid that you can almost smell and taste all the different delicacies in the shop where August works. The characters are very well written and in the end it is almost sad to put the book down. A very enjoyable read - a book that can be read more than once.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unique story line, September 10, 2007

By 

Debra Smith "Cyclone Cowgirl" (Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: August Frost: A Novel (Paperback)

I loved this book and actually hated for it to end.......not telling anymore don't want to ruin the story