Literary Fiction · ThoughtfulThe fictional autobiography of Daisy Goodwill, born in 1905
The Stone Diaries
The life of one woman, told chapter by chapter from birth to old age
Daisy Goodwill is born in 1905, and her mother dies shortly afterward. A neighbor raises her for her first eleven years, and the book follows her from there as a fictional autobiography. It is divided into ten chapters, each covering a different period of her life, in places including Canada, Indiana and Florida.
More about this book
Who
Daisy Goodwill Flett, born in 1905 to Mercy Stone and Cuyler Goodwill. A neighbor, Clarentine Flett, raises her.
World
Winnipeg, Indiana, Ottawa, Sarasota and the Orkney Islands, across most of the twentieth century.
What makes it different
It is written as a fictional autobiography in ten chapters. One chapter is made entirely of letters to Daisy, and the last includes lists and short conversations. It is the only novel to have won both the Governor General's Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
Feel
Thoughtful and unhurried, one life seen from many sides.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The Stone DiariesWikipedia