Praxis [Paperback]

Fay weldon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1980

A novel which tells the story of a woman from childhood to adulthood, beginning in wartime Brighton and spanning forty years.

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

Editorial Reviews

Review

An astonishingly vivid and wickedly funny portrait of a woman and her times, Praxis is a story told from two viewpoints - Praxis as a young girl and Praxis as an old woman. At age five, Praxis Duveen is "the pretty one," her sister, Hypatia, "the artistic one, and very sensitive;" their mother, Lucy, "clearly valued sensitivity above prettiness." While Lucy fights to protect her place in the heart of her children's father - not her husband - and in the eyes of a society not of her choosing, Hypatia collects awards in school and Praxis propels herself into life and love. Looking back as an old woman, Praxis cannot forgive her mother or cherish her memories: "I, Praxis Duveen, being old and scarcely in my right mind, now bequeath you my memories. They may help you: they certainly do nothing to sustain me, let alone assist my bones to clamber out of the bath." Neither the young or the old Praxis are especially likeable, and both are subject to wild errors in judgment. Fay Weldon pulls no punches in her pointed and witty observations of British middle-class values and behavior as she creates a discomfortingly believable picture of an ordinary woman in a society that does not value women. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (February 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671828142
• ISBN-13: 978-0671828141
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,172,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, October 20, 2004

By 

Mazecat (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Praxis (King Penguin) (Paperback)

A great read and something to think about. It's very unsettling at times but none the less very compelling. I first read this book about 12 years ago and have read it twice since. It's one of those books that just stays with you.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this and enjoy, December 11, 2007

By 

SA Veenis (Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Praxis (Paperback)

Praxis bij Fay Weldon is as much light as it is unsetteling. It referes to old knowlegde as well as to new adventures. To a need to be secure as well as the need to be free and uncommitted. It's not the story that's so special (an old woman looking back on her life, how she grew up (bizar indeed) the 'choices' she made) but the way it's written is special, almost poetry. And though Fay Weldon breaths seventy's moral and the feminisme of last century, stangely to me the story is not out of date, although I read it first 20 years ago.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars What was I thinking?, June 2, 2004

By 

L. Dunn (Paris, TN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Praxis (Hardcover)

Fay Weldon is one of those authors I love to hate. I keep reading them just to see how bad they really are. Praxis is such a quirky, odd character that you keep reading just to see how bizarre things can really get. It goes beyond my definition of bizarre, but don't take my word for it...read it for yourself!
:-)