James Tait Black Memorial Prizes
Memoirs of a Midget
A fantastical novel told from the perspective of the small-statured Miss M., tracing loneliness, desire, self-making, and estrangement from society. Quiet humor and an unsettling atmosphere intertwine, and the shifting boundary between reality and fantasy leaves a strong impression.
Work Information
A fantastical novel that reflects the size of the world through a small body.
Memoirs of a Midget follows a small-statured heroine through a world of observation, memory, obsession, and hard-won independence. Ambitious romance, strange social rituals, and the logic of spectacle overlap, bringing de la Mare's characteristic blend of fantasy and psychological precision into focus.
Review Summaries
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Responses are mixed. Many readers value the novel's fable-like premise and the originality of Miss M.'s voice, while others find its length and shadowed pace demanding.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Telegram
- Published
- 2009-11-01
- Pages
- 528 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 12.95 x 3.56 x 20.07 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781846590665
- ISBN-10
- 1846590663
- Price
- 3630 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Historical
“One of the strangest and most enchanting works of fiction ever written.”—Alison Lurie Miss M., a pretty young woman with a passion for shells, fossils, flints, butterflies, and stuffed animals, remains isolated from the rest of society due to her diminutive size. Forced to make her own way in the world after the death of her father, she finds herself treated as little more than an entertaining curiosity. Walter de la Mare (1873–1956) was one of the leading poets and novelists of the twentieth century. First published in 1921, Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction.
Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was one of the leading poets and novelists of the twentieth century.. He was an anthologist of genius and an outstanding literary critic, reviewing for the TLS for over a decade. First published in 1921, Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.
Reviews
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This book is quite fascinating, as I expected it would be. By about page 100 the reader begins to understand what is unique in Miss M. Because of her small size she goes through life somewhat as a child would, yet mentally she develops normally. Thus she is a magical creature who can see the world afresh while still mentally mature – the dream of every poet. Also, the smaller you are, the more detail you can notice. Others are of “the common size” – this is meant somewhat derogatorily, as appears when Miss M. corrects it to “the ordinary size” when she meets Dr. Phelps. Miss M. is rather contemptuous of normal humanity – “Forty feeding like one” (Wordsworth). She notes that giants are usually stupid, therefore, she … perfects the conditional. I was well into the book and was still waiting for the surrealism. It is always a mysterious book in the sense that I, at least, am never quite sure what is going on in the interpersonal relationships, but that may be just me. But on p. 214 we get: “I wonder what the listener thought of this little challenge, not what Mr. Crimble did.” Miss M. and Mr. Crimble are alone in the room. "The Listeners" (1912) is de la Mare’s best-known poem, indeed the one I read first. I suspect de la Mare’s "listeners" are readers of life’s books, including those that haven’t been written yet.
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A wonderfully bonkers book I loved it ! I bought this copy for my 12 year old neice I will update with her thoughts !
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...though few enough people will ever read it, because this book languishes in undeserved obscurity. This novel is a fascinating look into a life which is unimaginable to most of us--this life of a tiny, delicate midget, whose heart and soul are as large as she is small. This is not a book to be picked up for an idle afternoon's reading (though it is not difficult to read), because it is truly like entering...well, a fairyland. If you are a reader of high fiction, you will love it. And, though I'm evidently the only person in the world who knows this, it would make a world-beating animated film.
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very good item and service
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Amazon.com sent me the corrected, updated version of Memoirs of a Midget today (thank you, thank you!), and it works fine on my Kindle (at last)! The book itself is a masterpiece, and I am so glad to have some Walter de la Mare works available for my Kindle now. His prose stories are generally hard to find, and unaccountably obscure. And it is a pity, because he was a unique, amazing writer and poet. His lyrical, haunting style is unmatched, and quite enchanting. His poetry is truly fine, but I really love his prose works best. They read like prose, but engage your imagination like poetry! The language is beautiful.