Bibliograph

The porpoise, a novel, Mark Haddon

Type

Label

The porpoise, a novel, Mark Haddon

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references

Index

no index present

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

The porpoise

Nature of contents

bibliography

Responsibility statement

Mark Haddon

Sub title

a novel

Summary

"Mark Haddon's breathtaking novel begins with a harrowing plane crash: Maja, the pregnant wife of the unimaginably wealthy Philippe, is killed, but their daughter Angelica survives. Philippe's obsession with the girl's safety morphs into something sinister and grotesque as she grows into a beautiful teen. A young man named Darius, visiting Philippe with a business proposition, encounters Angelica and intuits their secret. He decides to rescue her, but the attempt goes awry. This contemporary story mirrors the ancient legend of Antiochus, whose love for the daughter of his dead wife was discovered by the adventurer Appolinus of Tyre. The tale appeared in many forms through the ages; Apollinus becoming the swashbuckling Pericles in Shakespeare's eponymous play. In The Porpoise, as Angelique comes to terms with a life of imprisonment on her father's estate, Darius morphs into Pericles, voyaging through a mythic world. In a bravura feat of storytelling, Haddon recounts Pericles? many exploits in thrilling fashion, mining the meaning of the old legends while creating parallels with the monstrous modern world Angelica inhabits."--Book jacket

Table Of Contents

The flight -- The child -- The porpoise -- The family -- The serpent -- The hunt -- The storm

resource.variantTitle

Porpoise

Classification