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Amnesia (Cooper novel)

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Amnesia
First edition
AuthorDouglas Anthony Cooper
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
Published1994
PublisherHyperion Books

Amnesia is a 1994 novel by Douglas Anthony Cooper and is his debut novel.[1] The book was published in March 1994 by Hyperion Books and is the first entry in the Izzy Darlow series.[2]

Synopsis

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The book is dictated by an unknown narrator and follows Izzy Darlow, a mental hospital employee who volunteers his time in order to make amends for a robbery committed during his youth. It is there that he falls for the mute Katie, a patient at the hospital who had been subjected to extreme sexual abuse.

Reception

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Publishers Weekly noted that it was "Published to extravagant praise in Canada (with comparisons to Nabokov, Genet, Calvino and Margaret Atwood)."[3] Kirkus Reviews wrote that Amnesia was "more concerned with emotional states than traditional characters, and... reminiscent of, say, Thomas's White Hotel.[4] Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times observed: "Although (a) self-conscious quality never entirely lifts, one gradually comes to appreciate Mr. Cooper's copious gifts".[5] James Polk, in a second New York Times review, called Amnesia "a dense, absorbing first novel (which) locates prominent features in the landscapes of mind and memory."[6] While the Chicago Tribune hailed the book as "intricate",[7] the South Florida Sun-Sentinel dismissed it as "forgettable".[8] The Boston Globe called Cooper "ambitious", and noted that he "takes us on a journey through the dark corridors of the psyche, introducing us to characters who change shape as easily as smoke rings."[9]

References

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  1. ^ Hengen, Vicki (May 6, 1994). "`Amnesia': a mind-bending coming-of-age novel". Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 September 2012.[dead link]
  2. ^ Mabe, Chauncey (Jun 12, 1994). "PARTING SHOTS EVERYTHING'S COMING APART IN AMNESIA - PEOPLE, FAMILIES, HOUSES, WHOLE CITIES". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Fiction review: Amnesia". Publishers Weekly. February 28, 1994. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Review: Amnesia". Kirkus Reviews. December 15, 1993. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  5. ^ Kakutani, Michiko (February 25, 1994). "Books of The Times; An Ancient Mariner Tells a Haunting Modern Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  6. ^ JAMES POLK (1994-03-06). "Izzy's Own Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
  7. ^ Whitehouse, Anne (Apr 3, 1994). "DOUGLAS COOPER'S INTRICATE, SYMBOL-LADEN TALE OF FORGETTING AND IDENTITY". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  8. ^ Klotz, Steven (Jun 26, 1994). "AMNESIA' A FORGETTABLE, MEANDERING TALE". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  9. ^ Hengen, Vicki (May 6, 1994). "`Amnesia': a mind-bending coming-of-age novel". Boston Globe. Retrieved 30 September 2012.[dead link]
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