From the award-winning author of Legend of a Suicide: "A kind of modern fairy tale . . . Vann's novels are striking, uncompromising portraits of American life" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
David Vann's dazzling debut Legend of a Suicide was reviewed in over a 150 major global publications, won eleven prizes worldwide, was on forty "best books of the year" lists, and established its author as a literary master. Now, in crystalline, chiseled yet graceful prose, Aquarium takes us into the heart of a brave young girl whose longing for love and capacity for forgiveness transforms the damaged people around her . . .
Twelve-year-old Caitlin lives alone with her mother--a docker at the local container port--in subsidized housing next to an airport in Seattle. Each day, while she waits to be picked up after school, Caitlin visits the local aquarium to study the fish. Gazing at the creatures within the watery depths, Caitlin accesses a shimmering universe beyond her own. When she befriends an old man at the tanks one day, who seems as enamored by the fish as she, Caitlin cracks open a dark family secret and propels her once-blissful relationship with her mother toward a precipice of terrifying consequence.
"A blue-collar parable . . . [The character] looks back on her life as a child looks into a tank, hoping to make sense of the world inside--a theme Vann develops beautifully, creating a mysterious realm of the wintry American city." --The Guardian
About the Author :
Published in 20 languages, David Vann's internationally-bestselling books have won 15 prizes, including best foreign novel in France and Spain, and appeared on 75 Best Books of the Year lists in a dozen countries. A former Guggenheim fellow, he is currently a Professor at the University of Warwick in England and Honorary Professor at the University of Franche-Comté in France.
Review :
An Indie Next Pick for March; An Amazon Editors' Best Book of the Month
Praise for AQUARIUM:
"Elegantly written and fiercely imagined...physically, this book is so gorgeous it enhanced my reading experience. I found myself turning pages slowly, then running my hand across each smooth page. The photographs throughout the text, along with the turquoise capital letters that begin each chapter and mark the author's name and book title on every creamy, thick page, reminded me that no electronic reader could provide this tactile and visual experience...suspenseful ...at times, this is a painful novel, but its beauty propels it toward redemption."--Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune
"Much like the waters of the Seattle tourist attraction at its heart, David Vann's new novel, Aquarium, virtually bends light, plunging the reader into the relentless darkness of tormented souls in a splintered family...His language hits the reader like shrapnel in a metalworker's studio--fragmented and sharp-fitting for novels so packed with shattering turns."--Tyrone Beason, Seattle Times
"Gripping, painful, but ultimately hopeful, Aquarium is a coming-of-age story that explores the limits of love and forgiveness. Vann submerges you so deeply in Caitlin's world, you'll be gasping for breath when you finally surface. A."--Isabella Biedenharn, Entertainment Weekly
"A novel, but it's also an art object. Scattered throughout its glossy pages are beautiful photographs of rare fish; it is as much a pleasure to see and hold as it is to read...Vann's provocative prose is filled with a sense of wonder and beauty, even when the lives he describes are tragic."--Heather Scott Partington Los Angeles Times
"Cinematic...Aquarium is a genuine departure for Vann, an authentically new direction...Its delicate, coming-of-age sensuality and bright saltwater menagerie."--Lydia Millet, The New York Times Book Review
"Since electrifying the literary world five years ago with his debut novel, Legend of a Suicide, Vann has racked up an astonishing number of international awards. This lovely, wrenching novel should add to that list."--Library Journal (starred review)
"By pulling no punches in this explicit exploration of family, forgiveness, duty, acceptance, parent-child relationships, and what constitutes abuse, Vann has outdone himself."--Booklist (starred review)
"A kind of modern fairy tale...Unlike Vann's other novels, which exist in a closed system of violence and despair, this story offers redemption...Vann's novels are striking, uncompromising portraits of American life; here is another exceptional example."--Kirkus (starred review)
"Vann's elegantly written, emotionally intense novel juxtaposes the contained world of undersea creatures with the life of a family forced beyond its self-protective isolation...a moving exploration of the boundaries we draw around ourselves to stay safe and unchanged."--Publishers Weekly
"If deprivation was to Larkin what daffodils were to Wordsworth, then David Vann's daffodils are fish...Told bravely but persuasively...The author has metamorphosed himself into a 12-year-old girl with startlingly brilliant results. Aquarium is as rich as good poetry and as addictive as a first-class detective novel."--Wynn Wheldon, The Spectator
"A triumph."--Daily Mail (UK)
"A stirring tale that isn't as simple as it first appears."--Esquire (UK)
"This novel is arguably Vann's brightest...Caitlin's tale with its many surface ripples proves immersive, the narrative propelling us along like a forceful current...Once again, and in contrast to many of his peers, Vann's trademark limpid prose enables us to observe far more of what lies beneath."--Weekend Australian
