Jayne Anne Phillips – författare

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all oddsIn 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

Jayne Anne Phillips''s reputation-making debut collection paved the way for a new generation of writers. Raved about by reviewers and embraced by the likes of Raymond Carver, Frank Conroy, Annie Dillard, and Nadine Gordimer, Black Tickets now stands as a classic.With an uncanny ability to depict the lives of men and women who rarely register in our literature, Phillips writes stories that lay bare their suffering and joy. Here are the abused and the abandoned, the violent and the passive, the impoverished and the disenfranchised who populate the small towns and rural byways of the country. A patron of the arts reserves his fondest feeling for the one man who wants it least. A stripper, the daughter of a witch, escapes from poverty into another kind of violence. A young girl during the Depression is caught between the love of her crazy father and the no less powerful love of her sorrowful mother. These are great American stories that have earned a privileged place in our literature.

Jayne Anne Phillips has always been a master of portraiture, both in her widely acclaimed novels and in her short fiction.  The stories in Fast Lanes demonstrated the breadth of her talent in a tour de force of voices, offering elegantly rendered views into the lives of characters torn between the liberation of detachment and the desire to connect.Three stories are collected in this edition for the first time: in "Alma," and adolescent daughter is made the confidante of her lonely mother; "Counting" traces the history of a dommed love affair; and "Callie" evokes memories of the haunting death of a child in 1920''s West Virginia.  Along with the original seven stories from Fast Lanes--each told in extraordinary first person narratives that have been hailed by critics as virtuoso performances--these incandescent portraits offer windows into the lives of an entire generation of Americans, demonstrating again and again why Jayne Anne Phillips remains one of our most powerful writers.

In her highly acclaimed debut novel, the bestselling author of Shelter introduces the Hampsons, an ordinary, small-town American family profoundly affected by the extraordinary events of history. Here is a stunning chronicle that begins with the Depression and ends with the Vietnam War, revealed in the thoughts, dreams, and memories of each family member. Mitch struggles to earn a living as Jeans becomes the main breadwinner, working to coplete college and raise the family. While the couple fight to keep their marriage intact, their daughter Danner and son Billy forge a sibling bond of uncommon strength. When Billy goes off to Vietnam, Danner becomes the sole bond linking her family, whose dissolution mirrors the fractured state of America in the 1960s. Deeply felt and vividly imagined, this lyrical novel is "among the wisest of a generation to grapple with a war that maimed us all" (The Village Voice), by a master of contemporary fiction.

A luminous memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jayne Anne PhillipsJayne Anne Phillips grew up in the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia. The distinctly American landscape of Appalachia - dense with forests and small churches, rich in history and misunderstandings - has been the great setting for her fiction, even as she and her boundless imagination have travelled to other times and places.In Small Town Girls, Phillips recreates the place she calls home, its foundational truths and the densely woven ties between the women of the town. She traces her journey across the country in search of love and work and belonging and offers insights into the fellow writers and touchstones that moved and influenced her. From the local beauty salon to the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud, from Jean Shrimpton and Barbara Stanwyck to Stephen Crane and Breece D'J Pancake, Phillips ponders her relationship with inspiration, spirituality, culture, and the troubled annals of the last American centuries.Sparkling with wisdom and open-heartedness, Small Town Girls is part coming-of-age story, part social history, Jayne Anne Phillips's most personal, most accessible book yet - a love letter to the place and the people who have shaped her perceptions and her writing.'Beautifully written... shines a light on the ways small towns created American girls, and the ways in which American girls created their small towns' ALICE RANDALL'A brilliant, wide-ranging book, nostalgic and tough-minded at the same time' TOM PERROTTA'Phillips' prose is unflagging in its beauty and rhythm... West Virginia has no more eloquent and grateful daughter' KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW

A luminous memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jayne Anne Phillips'The painful thing about adolescence is that everything seems absolute, and the painful thing about adulthood is that nothing does'Jayne Anne Phillips grew up in the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia. The distinctly American landscape of Appalachia-dense with forests and small churches, rich in history and misunderstandings-has been the great setting for her fiction, even as she and her boundless imagination have travelled to other times and places.In Small Town Girls, Phillips recreates the place she calls home, its foundational truths and the densely woven ties between the women of the town. She traces her journey across the country in search of love and work and belonging-her discovery of writing and reading as tools for both survival and revelation-and offers insights into the fellow writers and touchstones that moved and influenced her. From the local beauty salon to the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud, from Jean Shrimpton and Barbara Stanwyck to Stephen Crane and Breece D'J Pancake, Phillips ponders her relationship with inspiration, spirituality, culture, and the troubled annals of the last American centuries.Sparkling with wisdom and open-heartedness, Small Town Girls is part coming-of-age story, part social history, Jayne Anne Phillips's most personal, most accessible book yet-a love letter to the place and the people who have shaped her perceptions and her writing.'Beautifully written... shines a light on the ways small towns created American girls, and the ways in which American girls created their small towns' ALICE RANDALL

A luminous memoir by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jayne Anne PhillipsJayne Anne Phillips grew up in the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia. The distinctly American landscape of Appalachia - dense with forests and small churches, rich in history and misunderstandings - has been the great setting for her fiction, even as she and her boundless imagination have travelled to other times and places.In Small Town Girls, Phillips recreates the place she calls home, its foundational truths and the densely woven ties between the women of the town. She traces her journey across the country in search of love and work and belonging and offers insights into the fellow writers and touchstones that moved and influenced her. From the local beauty salon to the legendary Hatfield-McCoy feud, from Jean Shrimpton and Barbara Stanwyck to Stephen Crane and Breece D'J Pancake, Phillips ponders her relationship with inspiration, spirituality, culture, and the troubled annals of the last American centuries. Sparkling with wisdom and open-heartedness, Small Town Girls is part coming-of-age story, part social history, Jayne Anne Phillips's most personal, most accessible book yet - a love letter to the place and the people who have shaped her perceptions and her writing.'Beautifully written... shines a light on the ways small towns created American girls, and the ways in which American girls created their small towns' ALICE RANDALL'A brilliant, wide-ranging book, nostalgic and tough-minded at the same time' TOM PERROTTA'Phillips' prose is unflagging in its beauty and rhythm... West Virginia has no more eloquent and grateful daughter' KIRKUS, STARRED REVIEW

A story of love, murder and obsession - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'Jayne Anne Phillips has written the novel of the year... A compulsively readable story' STEPHEN KING'Combines a strange hypnotic and poetic power with the sharp tones of documentary evidence' COLM TOIBIN'Superb' SUNDAY TIMES'Absorbing and captivating' GUARDIANChicago, 1931. Asta Eicher, a lonely widow with three children, is swept off her feet by charismatic Harry Powers. After a hasty courtship, she agrees to move across the country to Quiet Dell, his farm in Appalachia. She and her children are never seen again.Emily Thornhill, one of the few female journalists in Chicago, is sent to West Virginia to cover the case. The deeper her investigation leads, the more obsessed she becomes with Asta's disappearance - until she finally uncovers the terrifying truth.

A story of love, murder and obsession - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'Jayne Anne Phillips has written the novel of the year... A compulsively readable story' STEPHEN KING'Combines a strange hypnotic and poetic power with the sharp tones of documentary evidence' COLM TOIBIN'Superb' SUNDAY TIMES'Absorbing and captivating' GUARDIANChicago, 1931. Asta Eicher, a lonely widow with three children, is swept off her feet by charismatic Harry Powers. After a hasty courtship, she agrees to move across the country to Quiet Dell, his farm in Appalachia. She and her children are never seen again.Emily Thornhill, one of the few female journalists in Chicago, is sent to West Virginia to cover the case. The deeper her investigation leads, the more obsessed she becomes with Asta's disappearance - until she finally uncovers the terrifying truth.

A powerful tale of grief and survival - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'This novel is cut like a diamond, with such sharp authenticity and bursts of light' ALICE MUNRO'Extraordinary and luminous... the best novel I've read this year' JUNOT DIAZ'Incandescent and utterly original' NEW YORK TIMES'A glowing, powerful and immensely readable paean to the power of family' INDEPENDENTIn 1950s West Virginia, seventeen-year-old Lark and her younger half-brother Termite, who is unable to walk or talk, are being raised by their Aunt Nonie. Their mother Lola is absent, Termite's father is still caught up in the chaos of the Korean War, and Lark doesn't even know who her father is.One night, a flood roars through town. Amid the debris and destruction, the truths of Lark's personal history begin to surface. And as the mysteries of the past come to light, the lives of Lark and Termite will be changed forever.

A powerful tale of grief and survival - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'This novel is cut like a diamond, with such sharp authenticity and bursts of light' ALICE MUNRO'Extraordinary and luminous... the best novel I've read this year' JUNOT DIAZ'Incandescent and utterly original' NEW YORK TIMES'A glowing, powerful and immensely readable paean to the power of family' INDEPENDENTIn 1950s West Virginia, seventeen-year-old Lark and her younger half-brother Termite, who is unable to walk or talk, are being raised by their Aunt Nonie. Their mother Lola is absent, Termite's father is still caught up in the chaos of the Korean War, and Lark doesn't even know who her father is.One night, a flood roars through town. Amid the debris and destruction, the truths of Lark's personal history begin to surface. And as the mysteries of the past come to light, the lives of Lark and Termite will be changed forever.

A deeply moving novel about hopeful beginnings and profound endings - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'A brilliant writer, utterly original and with an astonishing range' IAN McEWAN'Phillips combines extraordinary perception with extraordinary versatility and power' MARGARET ATWOOD'Shimmering prose, fierce realism and probing meditativeness' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'The beauty and originality of MotherKind are undeniable' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTOne summer's day, 30-year-old Kate flies to her Appalachian hometown to tell her mother she is pregnant. But when she arrives, her mother reveals that she doesn't have long to live. Kate is suddenly thrust into roles of enormous responsibility, caring for both her child and her terminally ill mother. In the same year that she watches her newborn grow, Kate witnesses the gradual disappearance of a woman who has been her best friend and mentor her entire life, and is forced to reckon with devastating loss alongside a joyful new beginning.

A deeply moving novel about hopeful beginnings and profound endings - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Night Watch'A brilliant writer, utterly original and with an astonishing range' IAN McEWAN'Phillips combines extraordinary perception with extraordinary versatility and power' MARGARET ATWOOD'Shimmering prose, fierce realism and probing meditativeness' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'The beauty and originality of MotherKind are undeniable' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENTOne summer's day, 30-year-old Kate flies to her Appalachian hometown to tell her mother she is pregnant. But when she arrives, her mother reveals that she doesn't have long to live.Kate is suddenly thrust into roles of enormous responsibility, caring for both her child and her terminally ill mother. In the same year that she watches her newborn grow, Kate witnesses the gradual disappearance of a woman who has been her best friend and mentor her entire life, and is forced to reckon with devastating loss alongside a joyful new beginning.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024

''A haunting story of conflict with hope at its heart'' Daily Mail''A tour de force - breathtaking in both its scope and intensity'' TAYARI JONES''Shatteringly particular and audaciously universal'' ALICE RANDALL''Excellent... Phillips has brought a little more of this foundational American episode into the light'' GUARDIANIn the wake of the Civil War, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother Eliza, who hasn''t spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. Delivered to the hospital by a war veteran known to ConaLee as Papa, mother and daughter are soon swept up in the life of the facility and its characters: the night watchman who lost his eye in battle, the child called Weed, the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen, and the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution. There, far from family and the mountain home they knew, ConaLee and Eliza try to reclaim their lives, and uncover identities lost, hidden or unknown. Night Watch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2024 on 6 May 2024

THE 2024 PULITZER PRIZE WINNER IN FICTION'Breathtaking in both its scope and intensity' TAYARI JONES'Shatteringly particular and audaciously universal' ALICE RANDALL A mesmerising story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in a mental asylum in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War.In 1874, in the wake of the war, trauma haunts civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother, Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegh­eny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital's entrance by a war vet­eran who has forced himself into their lives. There, far from family, a beloved neighbour, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.The twin horrors of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their history: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee's father, who left for the war and never returned. Meanwhile in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother's maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility - the mystery behind the man they call the Night Watch; the child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.Epic, enthralling and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds and a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.Night Watch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2024 on 6 May 2024

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2024'A haunting story of conflict with hope at its heart' Daily Mail'A tour de force - breathtaking in both its scope and intensity' TAYARI JONES'Shatteringly particular and audaciously universal' ALICE RANDALL'Excellent... Phillips has brought a little more of this foundational American episode into the light' GUARDIANIn the wake of the Civil War, twelve-year-old ConaLee and her mother Eliza, who hasn't spoken in more than a year, arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. Delivered to the hospital by a war veteran known to ConaLee as Papa, mother and daughter are soon swept up in the life of the facility and its characters: the night watchman who lost his eye in battle, the child called Weed, the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen, and the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution. There, far from family and the mountain home they knew, ConaLee and Eliza try to reclaim their lives, and uncover identities lost, hidden or unknown. Night Watch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2024 on 6 May 2024

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds"A tour de force." —Tayari Jones, author of An American MarriageIn 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Night Watch, a spectacularly riveting novel based on a real-life crime by a con man who preyed on widows: “a brilliant fusion of fact and fiction” (Stephen King).In Chicago in 1931, Asta Eicher, a lonely mother of three, is desperate for money after the sudden death of her husband. She begins to receive seductive letters from a chivalrous, elegant man named Harry Powers, who promises to cherish and protect her, ultimately to marry her and to care for her and her children. Weeks later, Asta and her three children are dead. Emily Thornhill, one of the few women journalists in the Chicago press, wants to understand what happened to this beautiful family, particularly to the youngest child, Annabel, an enchanting girl with a precocious imagination and sense of magic. Determined, Emily travels to West Virginia to cover the murder trial and to investigate the story herself, accompanied by a charming and unconventional photographer equally drawn to the case. These heroic characters, driven by secrets of their own, will stop at nothing to ensure Powers is convicted. A tragedy, a love story, and a tour de force of obsession, Jayne Anne Phillips’s Quiet Dell “hauntingly imagines the victims’ hopes, dreams, and terror” (O, The Oprah Magazine). It is a mesmerizing and deeply moving novel from one of America’s most celebrated writers.