Blood Tie
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Mary Lee Settle |
|---|---|
Publication date | June 12, 1979 |
| Awards | National Book Award for Fiction (1978) |
Blood Tie is a 1977 novel by American novelist Mary Lee Settle, published by Houghton Mifflin.[1] The novel, her eighth, won the 1978 National Book Award for Fiction.[2][3] With the award, Settle became the fourth woman to win the NBA in fiction out of 32 winners.[4]
The novel explores the going-ons of expatriates in a hotel in Ceramos on the Turkish coast.[5] The characters in the novel are generally unlikable, and their foibles become the central focus of the novel's plot.[5][6] Settle wrote the novel after returning to West Virginia, from time abroad, first in England then Italy.[3]
Reception
[edit]Though initial reception of the novel was less than positive, Settle won the National Book Award and critical consensus treats the novel as a turning point in her critical reception.[7] The New York Times was generally positive about the book, writing that Settle "has done a remarkable job of capturing the [expatriate] culture that is, in a sense, the most important character in her book."[5] George Garret in the Dictionary of Literary Biography called the novel "clearly a virtuoso work."[3]
References
[edit]- ^ "First Edition Points to identify Blood Tie by Mary Lee Settle". www.nbaward.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ Crane, John Kenny (1990-01-01). "Mary Lee Settle, The Art of Fiction No. 116". Paris Review. No. 114. ISSN 0031-2037. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ a b c "Biography of Mary Lee Settle". www.wvwc.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ "1978 - www.nbafictionblog.org - National Book Awards Fiction Winners". www.nbafictionblog.org. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ a b c Broyard, Anatole (August 18, 1977). "Books of The Times". The New York Times Books.
- ^ "Book review -- Mary Lee Settle. BLOOD TIE". faculty.webster.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
- ^ Rosenberg, Brian C. (Summer 1989). "Mary Lee Settle and the Critics". Virginia Quarterly Review.