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This Is Not a Novel: A Novel

By: Jennifer Johnston
Narrated by: Terry Donnelly
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Summary

Grappling with the loss of her brother three decades prior, a woman digs into her family's past and uncovers generations of betrayal, half-truths, and secrecy

Imogen's brother, Johnny, disappeared thirty years ago, ostensibly the victim of a drowning accident - a story to which everyone but Imogen subscribes. Johnny was too good of a swimmer, she reasons, and his body was never found. Imogen alone believes that he is still alive. To get to the truth, she dives into her memory and her family's history, all the way back to World War I-era Ireland and the long-buried events that forever changed them.

Lyrical, gripping, and compact, This Is Not a Novel is Imogen's first-person account of her search. Portrayed through fragments of memory, letters, and poetry, the book is not only a retelling - it is an appeal to Johnny, wherever he is, to come back home.
©2002 Jennifer Johnston (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Family Life Fiction Literary Fiction Ireland
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for C. A. Harfleet

I have always loved JJ s writing but I quite disliked this one. Largely the narrator but also. The storyline.

I thought this one of the worst narrators I've listened to. I would not have continued with the book had it not been by Jennifer Johnstone. I have always thought her a skilled and poetic writer but the storyline felt as though she were writing because she needed. to produce another novel. Flimsy and laboured. Normally I love Irish readers but not this one.

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Profile Image for Mr C.

A brilliant novel

A novel about loss, memory and longing. Jennifer Johnson writes about difficult issues with an admirable lightness of touch. Her books began to be published about fifty years ago: I hope they will never be forgotten.

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