Beside Myself - Softcover

Morgan, Ann

3.59

6,696 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408870304 ISBN 13: 9781408870303

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

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Helen and Ellie are identical twins - like two peas in a pod, everyone says. The girls know this isn't true, though: Helen is the leader and Ellie the follower. Until they decide to swap places: just for fun, and just for one day. But Ellie refuses to swap back... And so begins a nightmare from which Helen cannot wake up. Her toys, her clothes, her friends, her glowing record at school, the favour of her mother and the future she had dreamed of are all gone to a sister who blossoms in the approval that used to belong to Helen. And as the years pass, she loses not only her memory of that day but also herself - until eventually only `Smudge' is left. Twenty-five years later, Smudge receives a call from out of the blue. It threatens to pull her back into her sister's dangerous orbit, but if this is her only chance to face the past, how can she resist? Beside Myself is a compulsive and darkly brilliant psychological drama about family and identity - what makes us who we are and how very fragile it can be.

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About the Author:

Ann Morgan is a freelance writer and editor based in London. Ann's writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Independent, the Financial Times and the New Internationalist. She has sub-edited for publications including Tatler and Vanity Fair. Following the success of her project to read a book from every country in 2012, Ann continues to blog about international literature at ayearofreadingtheworld.com. Her first book,Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer, was published to great critical acclaim in 2015. Ann Morgan drew on her experiences as a Samaritans volunteer for her powerful portrayal of psychological stress in Beside Myself, which is her first novel. annmorgan.me @A_B_Morgan | #BesideMyself

Review:

"The World Between Two Covers is an exquisitely written book that manages to be both a compelling quest narrative and a moving exploration into the joys of reading. Ann Morgan is a wonderful writer--astute and accessible, lyrical and lush--and this is a book so compelling it's impossible to put down." - Molly Antopol, author of THE UN-
AMERICANS, on THE WORLD BETWEEN TWO COVERS

"In her lively, debut book, journalist and blogger Morgan, regretting that she has been 'a literary xenophobe,' recounts her project to spend a year reading one book, translated or written in English, from every country in the world . . . Morgan's intrepid literary project underscores the crucial importance of stretching the boundaries of one's aesthetic and intellectual worlds." - Kirkus Reviews on THE WORLD BETWEEN TWO COVERS

"As journalist Morgan relates in this introspective debut, she took it upon herself to learn more about international literature after looking at her shelves and realizing that her reading has been almost exclusively British and North American . . . The book's themes include the difficulties of getting published in other languages, the imperfection of translation, and the inequities of a global cultural tradition still dominated by Western imperialism . . . The reward for readers in this volume is a greater appreciation for global literature and the inspiration to reexamine one's own reading habits." � Publishers Weekly on THE WORLD BETWEEN TWO COVERS

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