Talking to the Dead [Paperback]

Helen Dunmore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1998

Praised by critics on both sides of the Atlantic for its elegant and sensuous prose, "Talking to the Dead" tells the story of two sisters whose lives are bound by the hidden and surprising truth about the long-ago death of their infant brother.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Long-buried secrets and resentments bubble lazily to the surface over a few short weeks when Nina, a London photographer and artist, goes to the English countryside to help her outwardly perfect older sister Isabel, who has just suffered through a difficult birth. Though the household--Isabel's husband Richard, friend Edward, baby Antony, and a local nanny--seems hermetically sealed against the world, past and present rear up to strike the sisters. "This house is stiff with things that can't be said," observes Nina. Stifling heat, menace, and memories radiate from these pages, keeping the reader on edge. Helen Dunmore, winner of the Orange Prize, heightens sometimes overly obvious drama with rich, sensual prose. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In her first U.S. publication, the winner of Britain's prestigious Orange Prize (for debuting women novelists) limns the story of two sisters bound by a terrible tragedy in childhood.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; First Edition. first paperback edition (June 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316196452
• ISBN-13: 978-0316196451
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plot and style never manage to mesh, November 12, 2000

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Talking to the Dead (Paperback)

There are some lovely elements to this book, not the least of which is the quality of the prose. Dunmore is clearly a talented writer and well-able to spin a moving tale. However.

Despite a promising start, this book about the relationship between two sisters never quite manags to gel. There are elements of a murder mystery, characters that you'd find in a Doris Lessing novel, and a plausible set up to bring the whole cast together. Taken individually, these things are fine, but instead of blending to a harmonious whole, the various aspects undermine each other and I found myself getting irritated by the skeletons in the closet while I was trying to concentrate on the emotional landscape.

Too bad.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tense, brittle, doomed, December 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Talking to the Dead (Paperback)

I liked this book a lot. I didn't expect everything to be explained, because Nina the narrator doesn't know all the answers (for example, about Edward's role in Isabel's life); I didn't expect to be shocked by plot twists--the whole book moves like a magnet to its climax and conclusion. The interest came for me in the gorgeous writing, and in the author's ability to sustain a terrible tension, a sense of gathering doom, like a summer storm rolling in slowly, but with stunning force. I enjoyed imagining Isabel through the eyes of the various characters; and imagining how Isabel's various mental troubles developed and manifested through life, while she remained (on the surface) a perfectly functional woman. We keep getting new information that changes that imagined course, right up to the end; so maybe it's the unwritten parts of the story that kept me fascinated. I didn't read it very quickly--I spent a couple weeks reading it in short sittings at the gym--maybe that helped me remember it as more attenuated, more impressive in the way its tone is maintained.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing, June 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Talking to the Dead: A Novel (Hardcover)

This novel was completely haunting. I didn't even like the main characters of the story but I felt compelled to know what was going to happen. The description is luscious and sensual, particularly when she is describing food. The sex scenes are haunting because they are so dismissive. Even if you read this book only for the beautiful prose, you will find a story that is provacative and understated in its complexity.