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Mrs. Caliban

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BillyPreset (talk | contribs) at 14:32, 2 June 2019 (The story does not hint, until the last page, that the sea monster "may or may not be a figment of her imagination". Saying so here is too much of a spoiler.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mrs Caliban
Cover of the Harvard Common Press 2009 printing of Mrs. Caliban
AuthorRachel Ingalls
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy novel
PublisherHarvard Common Press
Publication date
1982
Publication placeAmerica
Pages125 pages
ISBN9780876451120
OCLC802904945
813.54
LC ClassPS3559.N38 M7 1983

Mrs. Caliban (1982) is a novella by Rachel Ingalls.[1] The plot concerns a lonely housewife who finds companionship with an amphibious sea monster named Larry. The book was reissued in 2017.[2]

Reception

The novella saw little critical nor commercial success upon release until 1986, when it was named by the British Book Marketing Council as one of the top 20 American novels of the post-World War II period.[3]

The novella has received praise from notable authors Ursula K. Le Guin, Joyce Carol Oates, Daniel Handler, and Eleanor Catton. [4] The author John Updike praises the book for being "So deft and austere in its prose, so drolly casual in its fantasy. . . . An impeccable parable, beautifully written from first paragraph to last."[5]

References

  1. ^ Park, Ed (20 December 2005). "They Never Forget". The Village Voice.
  2. ^ Lamy, Nicole (27 March 2017). "Dear Match Book: Hidden Gems". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Taylor, Justin (Dec 1, 2017). "A lost-and-found surrealist treasure: 'Mrs. Caliban' by Rachel Ingalls". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. ^ Zimmern, Jean (Dec 3, 2017). "Girl Meets Frog Monster In 'Mrs. Caliban'". npr Book Reviews. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  5. ^ [1], Los Angeles Times, April 1986