Charlotte Wood Libri

Jude, Wendy e Adele, tre donne settantenni, hanno un triste compito: svuotare la casa delle vacanze di Sylvie, che è morta di recente. Sono amiche da sempre, eppure adesso sembrano non ricordare il perché: era Sylvie a tenerle unite e in equilibrio tra loro. Jude è precisa e severa, non si lascia mai andare; Wendy è spesso tra le nuvole e si ostina a portare ovunque il vecchio cane Finn; Adele sogna ancora un futuro da attrice ed è in perenne attesa dell’occasione giusta. Così, durante un caldo e piovoso weekend sulla costa australiana, mentre il fantasma di Sylvie appare alle tre donne in luoghi e momenti impensabili, emergono conflitti e antichi rancori, segreti e tradimenti. Ma sono le bugie che le amiche raccontano a se stesse a mettere a dura prova il loro rapporto. Con tenerezza, umorismo e un’inattesa vena surreale, Charlotte Wood svela il mistero e la forza dell’amicizia, e le inquietudini dell’età matura. Ma quando il passato si colora di tutte le sfumature del vissuto, allora il futuro si illumina, e tenendosi per mano le protagoniste riescono a vincere la paura, sicure di poter contemplare insieme un nuovo orizzonte.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024: THE NEW NOVEL BY THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF THE WEEKEND. A Book of the Year for the Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, and ABC, and shortlisted for multiple prestigious awards, this novel is described as "a beautiful, mature work that does not flinch from life" (SUNDAY TIMES) and "a transfixing novel" (FINANCIAL TIMES). It explores the essence of goodness, posing significant questions that leave readers feeling kinder and braver (ANNE ENRIGHT). Critics have praised its powerful narrative, with one noting, "I have rarely been so absorbed by a novel" (GUARDIAN). The book is characterized as "beautiful, strange and otherworldly" (PAULA HAWKINS) and extends the author's remarkable achievements in profound ways (SATURDAY PAPER). The story follows a middle-aged woman seeking retreat in a small religious community in rural Australia after feeling burnt out. Her tranquil life is disrupted by a mouse plague, the return of her sister's remains, and a visitor from her past. PRAISE FOR CHARLOTTE WOOD'S THE WEEKEND includes accolades from various publications, highlighting its insight into women's lives and the author's exceptional talent. The novel is celebrated for its humor, intelligence, and the honest portrayal of friendship and aging, solidifying Wood's place among esteemed writers.

Two women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in an abandoned property in the middle of a desert in a story of two friends, sisterly love and courage - a gripping, starkly imaginative exploration of contemporary misogyny and corporate control, and of what it means to hunt and be hunted. Strangers to each other, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be there with eight other girls, forced to wear strange uniforms, their heads shaved, guarded by two inept yet vicious armed jailers and a 'nurse'. The girls all have something in common, but what is it? What crime has brought them here from the city? Who is the mysterious security company responsible for this desolate place with its brutal rules, its total isolation from the contemporary world? Doing hard labour under a sweltering sun, the prisoners soon learn what links them: in each girl's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man. They pray for rescue - but when the food starts running out it becomes clear that the jailers have also become the jailed. The girls can only rescue themselves.

Ein komplett ungewohntes Umfeld ermöglicht einen ganz neuen Blick auf sich selbst. Wie lange der Aufenthalt in den Monaro Plains dauern wird, ist ihr nicht klar, aber länger, als es die Städterin aus Sydney erwartet hätte. Müde von Rummel und Geselligkeit, entscheidet sie sich eher zufällig für diese Form von Rückzug ins Kloster, ohne dass Religion in ihrem Leben eine Rolle spielt. Im ungewohnten Umfeld findet sie auf überraschende Weise zu sich selbst und setzt sich mit grundlegenden Fragen zu Freundschaft, Liebe, zur Vergangenheit und zum Älterwerden auseinander. Getragen von einem stark verlangsamten Rhythmus, wird sie immer mehr hineingesogen in diesen Ort, bis sie eine überraschende Entscheidung trifft.