Product Description

A richly comic tale of the tangled fortunes of two theatrical families, the hazards and chances, Angela Carter's witty and bawdy new novel is populated with as many sets of twins, and mistaken identities as any Shakespeare comedy, and celebrates the magic of over a century of show business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20345 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"* 'Wise Children is Angela Carter's best book. It deserves many prizes and, better than that, the affection of generations of readers' Times Literary Supplement * 'Inventive and brilliant' The Times * 'A funny, funny book, Wise Children is even better than Nights at the Circus. It deserves all the bouquets, diamonds and stage-door Johnnies it can get' Salman Rushdle, Independent on Sunday * 'Wonderful writing...there is not much fiction around that is as good as this' Ruth Rendell, Daily Telegraph"

From the Publisher
One of the century's finest writers' Sunday Times

About the Author
Angela Carter was born in 1940 and read English at Bristol University, before spending two years living in Japan. She lived and worked extensively in the United States and Australia. Her first novel, Shadow Dance, was published in 1965, followed by the Magic Toyshop in 1967, which went on to win the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. She wrote a further four novels, together with three collections of Short Stories, two works of non-fiction and a volume of collected writings. Angela Carter died in 1992

Customer Reviews

A wonderful, complex, funny work of art.
Being guided through the lives and times of the Chance sisters is an exhilarating experience. With fabulously three-dimensional characters, witty one-liners and clever links with all things Shakespearean and theatrical this is a definite "must-read". In short, I loved this book.I was asked to analyse the first chapter in an English Literature mock A-level exam and knew from then I just had to read on! There is some exceptional use of imagery and metaphor here which are clear and really brinbg this book to life. Whilst being extremely entertaining, this novel is also strangely tragic - it must be remembered that the auther had terminal cancer whilst writing this book and died two months after it's publication. This is a tragedy to all lovers of a good read as there will be no more pieces produced by this wonderful writer. The mixture of the "glitz and glam" of the showbiz world and the stark realities of being orphaned make for one of the most exciting novels I have read yet.

Suspend your disbelief and go with the flow
I had to read Several Perceptions a few years ago at uni and found it a torment - I like my books grounded in reality and have an aversion to features like magic realism and dream sequences. However, I know Angela Carter has many devoted fans and thought maybe I was missing something, so decided to give her a second chance with Wise Children.

I certainly found this book more enjoyable than Several Perceptions, notably because it does at least try to follow some kind of linear narrative and has more developed characters. Also, I liked the theatrical world it evoked, ranging from sordid goings-on in draughty local theatres to big-budget Hollywood glitz. The narrator, Dora Chance, is wickedly funny, she may be an old lady but I often found myself smiling at her wry and sometimes crude observations on life. I also warmed to the characters of Grandma and Uncle Perry, though twins Saskia and Imogen were like pantomime ugly sisters and Melchior wasn't particularly likeable. I did find myself getting quite confused and having to refer to the "cast of characters" at the back of the book to remember who everyone was (so many twins and uncertain paternities, they could keep Trisha busy for a year) - you really can't let your attention wander when reading this book.

Yes, this book is full of crazy coincidences and some of the "set piece" scenes are quite ridiculous, but if you can suspend your disbelief and silence the little voice in your head saying "that would never happen", it's quite an enjoyable read and I will probably try out some of her other novels.

It's worth adding that, although it's about 15 years old, this book is quite topical in many ways, particularly the satire of celebrity culture and people living their lives in public (the demise of Tristram and Tiffany's relationship on live TV, for example), while the image of Saskia as a TV chef suggestively licking spoons should strike a chord with today's readers!

Just a bawdy romp?
No, of course not, but Carter only lets literary pretensions get the better of her at the end. Until then, it's an enjoyable read. It may be a bawdy, raucous melodrama, but that's the point.

A word of warning, however - don't let the first 30 odd pages put you off. Whilst the first paragraph grabs the attention and keeps it for the next few pages, Carter's rapid, fleeting, expositional and somewhat remote style might be off-putting. However, stick with it, because, whilst it remains like that for much of the book, that's part of the charm. You just have to let yourself go to the storytelling charms of the protagonist Dora.

Wise Children is witty, the prose is knowing (but not self-consciously so) and the characters, whilst stereotypical in places, absolutely spot on for capturing the pomp and sordid side of showbiz throughout the last century.

I'll definitely be checking out some of Carter's other pieces in light of this one.