The Everlasting Story of Nory [Import] [Hardcover]

Nicholson BAKER (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1ST edition (1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0701166908
• ISBN-13: 978-0701166908
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I've written thirteen books, plus an art book that I published with my wife, Margaret Brentano. The most recent one is a comic sex novel called House of Holes, which came out in August 2011. Before that, in 2009, there was The Anthologist, about a poet trying to write an introduction to an anthology of rhyming verse, and before that was Human Smoke, a book of nonfiction about the beginning of World War II. My first novel, The Mezzanine, about a man riding an escalator at the end of his lunch hour, came out in 1988. I'm a pacifist. Occasionally I write for magazines. I grew up in Rochester, New York and went to Haverford College, where I majored in English. I live in Maine with my family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The colorful wisdom of Nory., July 23, 1998

By 

Pippilina Efraimsdottir Katzenjammer Mackrelmint - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everlasting Story of Nory: A Novel (Hardcover)

Fans of Nicholson Baker will probably be disappointed to find that this book containss aboslutely nothing about sex! The Everlasting Story of Nory is more akin to Madeline than The Feramata, because it is a story about dreaming, wisdom and creativity in the world of 9 year old kids.

The Everlasting Story of Nory is a refreshing reminder of how important it is to stay creative, young, and open minded. Baker documents the life of Eleanor (Nory) Winslow, a nine year old American girl who is spending a semester at an English school.

Like most 9 year olds, Nory dreams of things that most adults are too jaded to consider-- like creating a museum of plastic sushi, or being a pop-up book engineer.

As adults we may take ourselves too seriously, or trivialize the lives of children-- but Baker runs time in reverse and brings the adult reader back to fourth grade, to a land of run-on sentences and malapropisms, where the lives of insects and adventures of stuffed ! animals are more significant than politics or money or other phenomena that adults hold so close to their hearts.

If there is a darker theme beneath this story, I haven't been able to find it. Rather, Nory is about the distinct flavor of happiness that disappears when we become teenagers and adults. Warning: this book may compell you to act like a 9 year old.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to early Baker charm, April 14, 1998

By 

Barrington S. Mann III - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everlasting Story of Nory: A Novel (Hardcover)

For those who remember the charm of Nicholson Baker's first two fictional novels The Mezzanine and Room Temperature, Everlasting Story of Nory brings back that innocent rambling charm. Told thru the eyes of his 9 year old daughter Mr. Baker takes us thru the amazing imaginary and real world of pre-teen life. In his rambling style he brought back many funny memories of the quirks of the social mannerisms of children. For those who were partially turned off by the sexually explicit Fermata and Vox, this is pure G rated fun. Also, don't forget to check out his recent book of essays "Lumber", which is a fun read until the last lumbering chapter!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost as much fun as an actual 9 year old!, July 14, 2000

By 

Karen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Everlasting Story of Nory (Paperback)

Nicholson Baker's literary abilities are praised all over the place - I'd like to praise his obvious parenting abilities. This book shows that he both remembers his own childhood and is paying intense, loving attention to his children. We get a great book - his kids get a great dad.

This book is insightful, brilliant, etc - it's also USEFUL if you have school age children in your life. When they can't talk yet, we know they're not rational; but it's so easy to forget that children look like they have a lot more figured out than they sometimes do. Hang out in the inside of Nory's mind for awhile, and remember how confusing and scary and wonderful and BIG the world was when you were small.

The book also presents a textbook example of parents allowing a child's good sense to guide her in a moral dilemma. Again, of course the literary value of the book is more important, but how fabulous to read a book with such a flawlessly moral tone as well.