Subtraction

by Mary Robison

Book Overview

"Robison raises sitcom wit to the level of real emotional situations, real comedy and real art." --The Chicago Tribune "Subtraction stands out as a high-wire act of the novel form--taut in expression... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394539435
• ISBN13: 9780394539430
• Release Date: February 1991
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 215 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know"

I recently went on a road trip and this book was perfect for it. Mary Robison created such vivid characters in Paige, her parents; also Pru and Raymond. Raf was vivid too, but not in a good way. It's a perfect example of a career alcoholic who will tell you he's going out for a pack of cigarettes, and for the next 6 months or so drops off the face of the earth. I guess Paige didn't know when she was well-off. But then there wouldn't be this wild wonderful trip she went on, in search of Raf's worthless belligerent self-- the descriptions of Houston, of travelling in storms, the assorted people (all more or less "off the grid") she meets. The account of being snow-bound in a New England Inn (where mom Dottie manages)is especially compelling, capturing the eerie power of the North Atlantic winters I remember so well. Robison is a great writer. I read her for the first time in a "Short Short Story" anthology and was hooked ever since. I can't wait to hear more from her.