Pandora's Box [Hardcover]

Alice Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 1999

Dr Noah Close recreates a perfect woman out of the damaged and burned female he finds on his doorstep. Once healed, Pandora comes to live as his wife, bringing only a glass box. She never speaks and one night he reaches for her in bed only to find a bloody body - Dr Close is arrested for murder.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Profoundly spooky, elliptical and dreamlike, this brief second novel from Scottish writer Thompson (Justine) may give readers long-term shivers. Plastic surgeon Noah Close awakens during a thunderstorm and hears somebody pounding on his front door. Rushing downstairs, he finds a figure in flames, which he extinguishes with his own body, and takes the victim to the private hospital where he specializes in the reconstruction of human bodies. After weeks of skin grafts and surgery, the still-unidentified woman emerges from her bandages perfectly healed, beautifulAand perfectly mute. Uncomfortable with her silence, Noah is relieved when she can be discharged, but one day, he finds her in his spare bedroom at home. He falls in love with her, names her Pandora, and considers her his wife. Though she won't speak, has no known past and possesses only a small glass box, Pandora still fills Noah's life with bliss, until she receives mysterious letters that render her reclusive. When the letters stop, Pandora blossoms again; then Noah wakes up beside his wife to find her dead, mutilated and covered in blood. The body vanishes. Noah becomes a suspect, escapes from police custody and eventually makes his way to Las Vegas, where he joins forces with Venus Dodge, a psychic detective. Many questions go unanswered in this supernatural thriller, but the eerie spell cast by the sculpted, if mannered prose, the panoply of weird events, and the fantastical characters may let readers forget about practicalities as they slide with disturbing ease into Thompson's shadowy vision. (June) FYI: During the 1980s, Thompson played in the British pop group the Woodentops.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Award-winning writer Thompson's second novel (following Justine, LJ 4/1/98, which won the James Tait Memorial Prize for fiction) is an oddly creepy look at the human desire for perfectibility and control. Set in Nevada, the book begins with plastic surgeon Noah Close's discovery of a badly charred female body. Close's painstaking reconstruction of the woman he names Pandora, and his eventual romantic relationship with her, is the tableau upon which the novel is constructed. As Pandora evolves, we register her ethereal presence but do not know her. Then, when she vanishes, we are drawn into Close's search for her; like him, we attempt to understand things that may not be ours to know. Thompson's writing is spare, crisp, seductive; the story is bold yet enigmatic, scary yet somehow sweet. The mystery envelops, the plot thickens. Readers will be drawn into the horror of the story but ultimately completely reassured by its poignant, if conventional, conclusion.AEleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (August 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880016701
• ISBN-13: 978-0880016704
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,104,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Head-spinning, October 24, 1999

By 

Jennifer Patience (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pandora's Box (Hardcover)

This highly symbolic, fascinating story is sure to keep you just beyond the answers you are looking for. After searching for this book extensively and finally finding it here, I read it in one sitting, and my head is still spinning. Almost an allegory, every charcacter seems to symbolize some deeper meaning or purpose. If you're looking for something to keep your mind busy, this is a book for you!

3.0 out of 5 stars LESS SATISFYING THAN ITS PREDECESSOR..., October 7, 2002

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pandora's Box (Hardcover)

I enjoyed Alice Thompson's first novel, JUSTINE, much more than PANDORA'S BOX. Both novels are very imaginative and a bit surreal - but these factors were carried a little too far in this book for my tastes. The story was interesting, but the unbelievable aspects of it were too great to be sustained by the acceptance of it as an allegory. Perhaps it was the fact that it was set in the present day - Las Vegas, according to the jacket flap, although I don't recall the city being mentioned by name - that made it a little too hard to swallow. For me, this sort of tale works better when its action takes place in a more ambiguous locale, or perhaps in one that's separated from reality more in space and/or time (upon making this statement, I realize that Las Vegas fits these criteria in some ways, but...).

Allegorical writing must by nature leave questions unanswered - otherwise it would become mere instruction or history (or both). Even at its most fantastic, however, there has to be a certain amount of reality in which to ground the story, or it becomes totally ineffective. I found the book to be mildly entertaining - but the characters weren't nearly as well-developed as those in JUSTINE, nor was the story as compelling.

Alice Thompson has definite talent - I'd love to see her write something a little less hallucinogenic. I'll look for her next book with interest...