First-time author Hassinger excels at describing the title character's "limited and limiting" adolescent mind, but stage and screen actress Barron (Guiding Light; Amy Rules) truly brings this troubled character to life in this eerily seductive narrative. Told from the perspective of Nina Begley, who was with her younger brother when he drowned, the novel tracks the unraveling of a family. After the accident, Nina's father turns to drink and her artist mother, Marion, shutters herself in her room. To draw her mother out, Nina offers to pose for a painting and doesn't even balk when Marion asks her to pose nude. Hassinger perfectly captures the guilt and thirst for affection that compels Nina to pose nude and, eventually, to attend an art exhibit featuring her own adolescent body. Barron's vocal talents shine here, as well. Though she narrates the story in soft, muted tones, her voice takes on all the uncertainty and rebelliousness of youth when teenage Nina strikes back at her narcissistic mother by having a secret affair with Marion's 30-something ex-beau. All in all, Barron's skilled, sensitive telling nicely compliments Barron's expressive prose, making this an exceptional audio adaptation. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Told with eloquence, tenderness, and a fearless sensuality, Nina: Adolescence is an unforgettable and utterly compelling debut. At fifteen, Nina is trapped in the net of her parents' grief over the accidental death of her little brother. Eager to hold the family together, she realizes that her mother's painting is the only way to rescue her from the brink of despair. At Nina's urging, her mother returns to the studio, where she begins a series of nude portraits of her remaining child-paintings that will chronicle the slow unfolding of a girl's body into a woman's.
The novel examines the central questions of adolescence, sexuality and identity, as well as raises questions about the limits of artistic freedom, and tenuous balance between serving oneself and serving the other in intimate relationships. It will be engaging reading for anyone who's gone through the pain and joy of growing up.
Told with eloquence, tenderness, and a fearless sensuality, Nina: Adolescence is an unforgettable and utterly compelling debut. At fifteen, Nina is trapped in the net of her parents' grief over the accidental death of her little brother. Eager to hold the family together, she realizes that her mother's painting is the only way to rescue her from the brink of despair. At Nina's urging, her mother returns to the studio, where she begins a series of nude portraits of her remaining child-paintings that will chronicle the slow unfolding of a girl's body into a woman's.
The novel examines the central questions of adolescence, sexuality and identity, as well as raises questions about the limits of artistic freedom, and tenuous balance between serving oneself and serving the other in intimate relationships. It will be engaging reading for anyone who's gone through the pain and joy of growing up.
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Nina: Adolescence
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Nina: Adolescence
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171863029 |
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Publisher: | Listen & Live Audio, Inc. |
Publication date: | 04/05/2024 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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