AccueilGroupesDiscussionsPlusTendances
Site de recherche
Ce site utilise des cookies pour fournir nos services, optimiser les performances, pour les analyses, et (si vous n'êtes pas connecté) pour les publicités. En utilisant Librarything, vous reconnaissez avoir lu et compris nos conditions générales d'utilisation et de services. Votre utilisation du site et de ses services vaut acceptation de ces conditions et termes.

Résultats trouvés sur Google Books

Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.

Chargement...

An Audience of Chairs (2005)

par Joan Clark

MembresCritiquesPopularitéÉvaluation moyenneMentions
16610163,252 (3.9)9
Joan Clark's An Audience of Chairs opens with Moranna MacKenzie living alone in her ancestral Cape Breton farmhouse, waging a war with the symptoms of bipolar disorder and grieving the loss of her two daughters, taken from her over thirty years previously. There are few people remaining in her life, as Moranna cannot help but tax the patience of nearly everyone she encounters. Her long-suffering brother Murdoch has her best interests at heart, though he is fatigued by her enormous needs and pressured by his ambitious wife to invest less time in her. Pastor Andy politely sloughs off the peculiarly intelligent yet unpalatable sermons Moranna pens for him. Her neighbour Lottie knows what it is to be an eccentric and can be counted on to come through in a pinch. The local RCMP constabulary smooths over her legal scrapes. And her lover Bun, who lives with her when not working on the ferries between Cape Breton and Newfoundland, knows how to give her a wide berth on her "foul weather" days. Thanks to the assistance of these sometimes reluctant guardian angels, as well as to the carefully planned inheritance left by her father (not to mention her own sheer ingenuity), Moranna has managed to get by all these years despite small-town gossips and tormenting youths. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn more about the devastating effects of Moranna' s mental illness on her life and that of her family. But An Audience of Chairs also gives us a glimpse into the mind of a true iconoclast and wild spirit, who has managed despite overwhelming odds to keep hope alive. Of An Audience of Chairs, Quill and Quire said: "Elegantly written and deeply grounded in place, this moving, compassionate novel is far more than a story of mental illness. Moranna's quest is for peace, joy, and connection-the same yearnings that drive us all."… (plus d'informations)
Aucun
Chargement...

Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre

Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.

» Voir aussi les 9 mentions

Affichage de 1-5 de 10 (suivant | tout afficher)
rev ( )
  c_why | Aug 2, 2020 |
Moranna MacKenzie is a brilliant, creative woman who also suffers from a mental illness that is probably manic depression (now called bipolar disorder). She lives in an old farmhouse in Baddeck, Nova Scotia where she carves wooden figures to sell to the tourists who take the Cabot Trail right in front of her house. Some mornings it would be easier to stay in bed but she has developed a system that gets her up. One of those things is to play the piano board for an audience of chairs. She doesn't want to take medication because she fears losing her creative impulses and so she has developed coping mechanisms. They don't always work and lots of people in the small town of Baddeck call her crazy. Fortunately, Moranna has a few guardian angels who are prepared to accept her as she is and provide support. One of those is her lover, Bun, who lives with her when the ferries between Cape Breton and Newfoundland are not running. Another is her brother who manages her finances and runs interference when Moranna goes too far.

Over 30 years ago, during a manic episode, Moranna left her two daughters and their cousin on an island in Bras d'Or. Her husband, a journalist, was in Moscow at the time and Moranna was left to look after the girls with only the part-time assistance of a neighbour girl. Moranna knew what she did was wrong and took to her bed while her father and stepmother looked after the children. A local doctor suggested treatment in the Nova Scotia asylum so Moranna was packed off there while her in-laws took the children. That was the last time Moranna saw the girls and she has thought of them ever since.

Then, by chance, she sees an interview with her daughter, now a renowned scientist. She learns the daughter will be in Halifax to get married and she is determined to contact her. It could go so wrong but Moranna knows she has to make the effort.

I found Moranna a complex and engaging character. She would probably be hard to handle in real life but if one made the effort, as Bun and her neighbour, Lottie, and others did, she would be interesting to have around. I found it fascinating to get this glimpse into the mind of someone with manic depression. Joan Clark has said she learned most of what she knows about the illness by observation but she has also said she is "always vulnerable to the emotional weather of the characters in my novels". So I think she, to some extent, became a person with those highs and lows.

This appears to be the last book Joan Clark has written. She is now 79 years old so maybe she has retired. Or maybe she is working on something and the literary world has something to look forward to. I hope that is the case. ( )
  gypsysmom | Oct 10, 2013 |
Moranna is a manic depressive living in Nova Scotia. Her two young daughters bonnie and Brianna were taken away from her in their early childhood because Moranna’s mind kept escaping. The book tells of how she fell ill and then struggled over many years to oversome that, and eventually re-runite with her long lost duaghters as they approach middle-age.
Clark’s style is deceptively simple. She simultaneously brings us into Moranna’s mind, while we watch her from outside and see the devastating effects. ( )
  BCbookjunky | Mar 31, 2013 |
Moranna is a manic depressive living in Nova Scotia. Her two young daughters bonnie and Brianna were taken away from her in their early childhood because Moranna’s mind kept escaping. The book tells of how she fell ill and then struggled over many years to oversome that, and eventually re-runite with her long lost duaghters as they approach middle-age.Clark’s style is deceptively simple. She simultaneously brings us into Moranna’s mind, while we watch her from outside and see the devastating effects. ( )
  TheBookJunky | Sep 24, 2011 |
I had selected An Audience of Chairs from the bargain section, as filler to reach the free shipping mark, during one of my many online book-buying sprees last year, and accordingly did not expect much from it. It sat patiently waiting and collecting dust on my bookshelf, in hopes that I would one day give it the attention that it so rightfully deserved. In an effort to finally make a dent in the copious amount of unread books that are taking up the diminishing space on my oversized shelves, I finally picked up this Canadian piece of fiction, and am I ever glad I did.

And so began my love affair with Moranna MacKenzie, the proud, self-absorbed, impetuous and free-spirited heroin of Joan Clark’s imagination. I am left with an impression of melancholy and bewilderment, now that her story has been told and she is no longer a part of my existence, as I have spent the last two days completely enthralled in hers. On more than a few occasions I found myself breathless, anxiously awaiting her next unbridled move that would only further her unfortunate descent into madness.

Although those closest to Moranna were quick to blame her mental illness for all that befell her, it was quickly apparent to me that it was also those accusers that needed to shoulder some of the blame. Her father failed her by keeping her mother’s illness a secret, as she might have found help for herself before having children, thus avoiding many of the hardships she was faced with. Secondly, the real tragedy of Moranna’s story is not her abandonment of her children, but her husbands abandonment of her, as she was sick and in need of help, while he was of sound mind and had vowed to be there for her in sickness and in health. Alas, it may be that her forced independence is what led her to a place of contentment, as her anger and will helped her to eventually weather the storm.

That being said, one of the most telling parts of the story, for me, was Moranna’s aversion to the story of the crucifixion of Christ, and his dying whilst taking responsibility for our sins. This cherished Easter story proved too much for her to bear, as she, in true form with her illness, was never able to take responsibility for any of the adversity or mistakes arising from her instability.

In the end, it is the unyielding empathy that Joan Clark affords this tragic character, and that I, as the audience filling one of those chairs, feels for her, that makes this story such an amazing and affecting journey into the complex, isolating and misunderstood abyss that is Manic-Depression.

www.booksnakereviews.blogspot.com
  PamelaReads | Aug 5, 2011 |
Affichage de 1-5 de 10 (suivant | tout afficher)
aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Vous devez vous identifier pour modifier le Partage des connaissances.
Pour plus d'aide, voir la page Aide sur le Partage des connaissances [en anglais].
Titre canonique
Titre original
Titres alternatifs
Date de première publication
Personnes ou personnages
Lieux importants
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais. Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
Évènements importants
Films connexes
Épigraphe
Dédicace
Premiers mots
Citations
Derniers mots
Notice de désambigüisation
Directeur de publication
Courtes éloges de critiques
Langue d'origine
DDC/MDS canonique
LCC canonique

Références à cette œuvre sur des ressources externes.

Wikipédia en anglais (1)

Joan Clark's An Audience of Chairs opens with Moranna MacKenzie living alone in her ancestral Cape Breton farmhouse, waging a war with the symptoms of bipolar disorder and grieving the loss of her two daughters, taken from her over thirty years previously. There are few people remaining in her life, as Moranna cannot help but tax the patience of nearly everyone she encounters. Her long-suffering brother Murdoch has her best interests at heart, though he is fatigued by her enormous needs and pressured by his ambitious wife to invest less time in her. Pastor Andy politely sloughs off the peculiarly intelligent yet unpalatable sermons Moranna pens for him. Her neighbour Lottie knows what it is to be an eccentric and can be counted on to come through in a pinch. The local RCMP constabulary smooths over her legal scrapes. And her lover Bun, who lives with her when not working on the ferries between Cape Breton and Newfoundland, knows how to give her a wide berth on her "foul weather" days. Thanks to the assistance of these sometimes reluctant guardian angels, as well as to the carefully planned inheritance left by her father (not to mention her own sheer ingenuity), Moranna has managed to get by all these years despite small-town gossips and tormenting youths. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn more about the devastating effects of Moranna' s mental illness on her life and that of her family. But An Audience of Chairs also gives us a glimpse into the mind of a true iconoclast and wild spirit, who has managed despite overwhelming odds to keep hope alive. Of An Audience of Chairs, Quill and Quire said: "Elegantly written and deeply grounded in place, this moving, compassionate novel is far more than a story of mental illness. Moranna's quest is for peace, joy, and connection-the same yearnings that drive us all."

Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque

Description du livre
Résumé sous forme de haïku

Discussion en cours

Aucun

Couvertures populaires

Vos raccourcis

Évaluation

Moyenne: (3.9)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5 2
3 10
3.5 7
4 26
4.5 4
5 12

Est-ce vous ?

Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing.

 

À propos | Contact | LibraryThing.com | Respect de la vie privée et règles d'utilisation | Aide/FAQ | Blog | Boutique | APIs | TinyCat | Bibliothèques historiques | Critiques en avant-première | Partage des connaissances | 203,240,861 livres! | Barre supérieure: Toujours visible