Confessions of Madame Psyche
Dorothy Bryant's novel blends letters and memoir-like reflection to explore self-fashioning and cultural pressure.
Work Information
Confession and correspondence overlap as the characters slowly come into focus.
Using stream-of-consciousness and letters, the novel shows the gap between inner life and social role.
Book Information
- Publisher
- The Feminist Press at CUNY
- Published
- 1998-05-01
- Pages
- 400 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.97 x 3.05 x 21.59 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781558611863
- ISBN-10
- 155861186X
- Price
- 39476 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Coming of Age
This 1987 American Book Award Winner follows the story of the young Mei-li Murrow who is dubbed Madame Psyche” after she accidentally predicts the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Although she wins fame and fortune, Mei-li seeks a truer spirituality, and embarks on a pilgrimage that takes her to the death-soaked Europe of the First World War, to a utopian commune in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the 1920s, to the Depression-era migrant work camps and cannery strikes, and finally to the Napa State Hospital, where she finds wisdom and peace among the outcasts of the asylum. Mei-li’s modern-day epic is grounded in the history of Northern California in the first half of the twentieth century and peopled by comrades of many classes and cultures and by lovers both male and female. Yet her central odyssey remains one of inner discovery. In Confessions of Madame Psyche , Dorothy Bryant has created a character who is so honest in her search for truth, growth, and spiritual understanding that this quest becomes inherent to her survival.
Dorothy Bryant is a native San Franciscan, the daughter of immigrants from northern Italy. She attended public schools in the Mission District, then San Francisco State University, completing a BA in music (1950) and an MA in creative writing (1964). From 1953 to 1976 she taught music and English in Bay Area high schools and colleges, spending the most time at Contra Costa College, after moving to Berkeley in 1964. She began writing fiction and articles in 1960.
Reviews
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I learned about several different issues in this exceedingly well researched book
The book is well written and describes the life of a half Chinese and half Caucasian woman born in 1896 to a poor family living near San Francisco. The story follows her life from birth to death as an old woman. Her many life events include stints as a Psychic, migrant worker in the fields of California, originator of a self sufficient community in a remote and wooded area, caretaker of an elderly woman, and involuntarily committed to an insane asylum where she chooses to spend her final years. The story chronicles her spiritual journey and attempts to live her life with integrity. The restrictions of being both a woman and a racial minority are described and woven into the events of her life. It is one of those books that is hard to put down and tends to dominate one's activities until the book is finished. It is an excellent choice for book clubs.
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Four Stars
I like all of Dorothy Bryant's books
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A realistic look of an unusual life from a fictional character.
The entire time I was reading this book I thought Mei-Li was a real person. Even after learning the work is fiction- I still feel like I was transported in time and space to witness a complicated and yet very real life. The author seemed to capture the humanity of the dark side of American History; poverty, hunger, race, religion, immigration, disaster, betrayal, mental illness...the list goes on an on and as if a naturally unfolding life of the main character Mei-Ali. It left me full and fulfilled as well as touched. Incredibly written to make you believe it is a true story.
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Content/storyline great but …..
This book was almost too difficult to read because of the need of a good proof read. There were an incredible number of misspelled words, typos galore, some so bad that it was difficult to figure out what the word was supposed be! I’ve never read an Amazon book in such bad shape. What an insult to the author that this was made into a ebook without any proofing before release. Shameful.
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...Madam Psyche
I love this book. I’ve read it twice so far and enjoyed it both times. I appreciate that it is historical fiction, giving me a personal view of living through the different times, in an area of which I am familiar. The typing and editing of this particular copy is very flawed. The are so many misspellings and typing errors it is sometimes difficult to understand what is written. I would not recommend this particular copy of the book.
Related Literary Awards
- American Book Awards Edition 8 (1987) ・Winner