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Gina Berriault

ジーナ・ベリアルト

Jīna Beriaruto

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1926-01-01 （Long Beach, California, U.S.）
Died
1999-07-15 （Greenbrae, California, U.S.） age 73
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
Long Beach, California, U.S. → San Francisco, California, U.S. → Greenbrae, Marin County, California, U.S.

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, teacher
Active Years
1950-1999
Affiliations
Iowa Writers' Workshop (teacher), San Francisco State University (teacher)
Influenced By
Her father (freelance writer)

Awards

PEN/Faulkner Award
1997
Work: Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award
1997
Work: Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
Bay Area Book Reviewers Award
1997
Work: Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories
Organization: Bay Area Book Reviewers
Result: 受賞
Rea Award for the Short Story
1997
Organization: Rea Award (Dungannon Foundation)
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Endowment for the Arts grant
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 助成
Ingram-Merrill Fellowship
Organization: Ingram-Merrill Foundation
Result: 受賞
Commonwealth Gold Medal for Literature
Organization: Commonwealth
Result: 受賞
Pushcart Prize
Organization: Pushcart Press
Result: 受賞
O. Henry Prize (multiple)
Organization: O. Henry Prize
Result: 受賞（複数）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories

1996 short story collection

A collection of Berriault's short stories, featuring delicate portrayals of immigrant backgrounds, complex family relationships, loneliness, and everyday struggles.

lonelinessfamilyimmigrant experienceeveryday psychology

The Descent

1960 novel

A 1960 novel focusing on human relationships and individual struggles.

personal strugglehuman relationships

A Conference of Victims

1962 novel

A 1962 novel that carefully depicts characters' psychology and conflicts.

conflictpsychological depiction

The Son

1966 novel

A 1966 novel focused on family and intergenerational themes.

familyintergenerational relationships

The Lights of Earth

1984 novel

A 1984 novel portraying human dramas set against city life.

urban lifehuman drama

The Stone Boy

1950 short story

A short story about a boy and his family, sharply depicting silence, loss, and family reactions; one of her notable works.

lossfamily reactionsilence
Adaptations
  • [film] The Stone Boy / Christopher Cain (1984)
  • [television] The Stone Boy (1960)

Bibliography

  • The Descent (1960)
  • A Conference of Victims (1962)
  • The Son (1966)
  • The Lights of Earth (1984)
  • Short Story (1958)
  • The Mistress and Other Stories (1965)
  • The Infinite Passion of Expectation: Twenty-five Stories (1982)
  • Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories (1996)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptation of the short story 'The Stone Boy' (1984) and a 1960 television adaptation

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic depictionquiet, delicate psychological insightconcise and precise prose
Recurring Motifs
lonelinesscomplex family dynamicsimmigrant backgroundsilence and loss

Legacy

Gina Berriault was known for delicate psychological portraits and depictions of everyday human drama in her short stories and novels, earning numerous awards for her contribution to short fiction. The Gina Berriault Award was established in 2009 by Peter Orner and Fourteen Hills Review at San Francisco State University to honor her legacy.

In Popular Culture

  • Film adaptation of 'The Stone Boy' (1984)
  • Gina Berriault Award (established 2009)

Trivia

  • She began writing stories as a child using her father's stand-up typewriter.
  • Taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop and San Francisco State University.
  • Her short story 'The Stone Boy' was adapted for television in 1960 and as a film in 1984.