Literary Fiction · MelancholicA retired literary agent, after an old friend's postcard arrives, goes back to the diary of a trip to Denmark
The Spectator Bird
A postcard from an old friend in Denmark reopens a trip that Joe Allston has not talked about
Joe Allston, a retired literary agent, receives a postcard from Astrid, a Danish countess and old friend, and at first he hides it from his wife Ruth. He eventually tells Ruth about it and about a diary he kept about twenty years earlier. It covers a trip the couple took to Denmark after the death of their only child, Curtis, with whom Joe had constantly fought. In Denmark the Allstons became entangled with Astrid and her ostracized aristocratic family,.
More about this book
Who
Joe Allston, a retired literary agent, his wife Ruth and Astrid, a Danish countess.
World
The Allstons' present-day life, and a trip to Denmark about twenty years before.
What makes it different
The narration moves back and forth between Joe's present-day struggles with aging and the Denmark story from his diary.
Feel
Reflective and bittersweet. It won the 1977 National Book Award for Fiction.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Spectator BirdWikipedia