August is a Wicked Month

Product Information

Banned in several countries on first publication, Edna O’Brien’s August is a Wicked Month is a shimmering, sensual tale of a woman rediscovering herself – and it feels just as glorious, radical, and escapist as today.

When Ellen’s husband takes their seven-year-old young son — whom they share custody for — on a camping trip to Wales, Ellen is free to enjoy her own summer break from her job as a theatre critic.

More of a novella, O'Brien does a tremendous job of bringing us inside the mind of a woman, Ellen, who is hurting and insecure after a divorce. A novel about thirty-something Londoner Ellen who, while estranged from her husband, has a meaningless vacation affair on the French Riviera. Embora a escrita seja muito mais simples e linear, a sua capacidade de surpreender e de tocar aspectos brutais da vida de uma forma crua e ao mesmo tempo tão verdadeira que nos arrebata, está cá. It's been 4 days and this short book put me in a reading slump, so it, indeed, fulfills the promise of making August a wicked month. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

This book written after O¿Brien moved to London is a departure from her three previous novels but reflects similar themes.The Summer Before the Dark’ by Doris Lessing: A well-educated woman contemplates her future after 20 years of marriage and motherhood at a time when having a career wasn’t open to all. They goto a burlesque show and the flirting and innuendos continue but Ellen is really only interested in the actor.

Later she meets a group of wealthy party-goers who explore the Riviera, beaches, restaurants and a fabulous French mansion. This frees her up to enjoy her summer vacation from her job as a theatre critic by becoming “a sort of tourist doing tourist things” in London. The good-looking Romeo finally towards the end of her trip, pays some attention to her at the beach and much to her excitement beds her.

when, suddenly, I spotted a black and white book cover featuring a snarky gal with a cigarette dangling from her mouth.

While I'd actually give this something like 3 1/2 stars, I bumped it up to 4 because even lesser O'Brien beats so much of what I've read lately - and this book is nearly as old as I am. This review is a complete spoiler, so if you have not read the book and plan to, you might want to read it first. The copyright page states first published 1965 indicating the first edition, with copyright Edna O¿Brien 1965. Broke and shocked, Ellen makes her way back home only to discover that the actor she wanted so badly may have given her an STD. You feel like you are watching a girlfriend do all sorts of things that you know are bad for her, and you just want her say please stop doing this to yourself, but you also know she won't listen.The reader will want to get into the book, grab Ellen by the shoulders, and shake some sense into her while she’s in France and then will want to comfort her once she is home. For more than 60,000 years, stories have formed, and continue to form, an integral part of the culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. She decides on the spur of the moment to fly to France for a short one week holiday whilst her ex-husband has taken their son on a camping holiday. Her 1960 debut novel, The Country Girl, was banned in her native Ireland for its groundbreaking depictions of female sexuality. Back at home front, a tragedy strikes and the husband, not knowing where his wife is, does the thing on his own.