Anywhere but Here | Anywhere but Here

At a glance:

Author: Mona Simpson
First Published: 1986
Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
Time of Work: Primarily the 1960’s and the 1970’s
Setting: Bay City, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles, California
Principal Characters: Ann, Adele, Carol, Lillian
Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Bildungsroman, Domestic realism, Family literature
Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, North America or North Americans, Self-discovery, United States or Americans, Mothers, Parents and children, 1940’s, Midwest, 1930’s, California, West, U.S., Single parents or single-parent families, Hollywood
Locales: Bay City, WI, Hollywood, CA

The Novel

Anywhere but Here is the fictionalized saga of an American family. Three generations of women take turns narrating chapters of a personal and cultural history that spans the years between the turn of the twentieth century and the beginning of the 1980’s. The novel’s nine parts do not proceed chronologically. The speakers relate events as they recall them, each adding detail and emotion to one another’s stories.

The first batch of memories is delivered by Ann, beginning with her infuriated mother’s practice of stopping the car on the roads of the...

Anywhere but Here | Anywhere but Here

At a glance:

The Novel

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