Female Ruins

by Geoff Nicholson

Book Overview

Geoff Nicholson's novel tells the story of Christopher Howell, a cult architect who allegedly built just one building, and the search for that fabled building--reputedly a wild, willful amalgam of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585671940
• ISBN13: 9781585671946
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 221 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

mythical erections

Architects these days just build things, and they don't even get to be very famous. There used to be architect-gurus back in the twentieth century, who said things that got quoted a lot - people like Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier. Kelly Howell is the daughter of one of these architect-philosophers, who was famous for not having built anything until he got crushed by one of his creations (a concrete hand).. She is conflicted about her feelings for her parents, makes a living driving a cab, and keeps trying to avoid giving interviews to biographers. A persistent American admirer of her father inveigles his way into her life. It's mostly set in rural Norfolk, England. It is brilliantly satirical but also very cleverly plotted, especially in the last few chapters (set in California) that twist and turn and set the story on its head.

Architectural Madness

I am so addicted to Mr. Nicholson! I own pretty much everything he's written, except for a few out of print pieces I'm still searching for. This new piece has his signature style of taking something common and twisting your perspective so that you see things in ways you never could in everyday life and you become just as intertwined with the subject as the characters are...This book deals with the world of architecture (not the typical art history terminology and styles I memorized in college) and what it says about our human condition, especially about the coincidence and sometimes wimsy of it all.I found myself completely thrust into the world of the characters and even though things seemed a bit predictable, the way things are revealed through Mr. Nicholson's twisted and descriptive language kept me completely inthralled and waiting to see what happens next.If you liked his other books, this is a definite must-read. If you've never read anything before, try the Food Chain, Hunters & Gatherers or Bleeding London first and then go for this one.