Isaac and His Devils (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Fernanda Eberstadt
- First Published: 1991
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The 1960’s to the 1980’s
- Setting: Gilboa, New Hampshire
- Principal Characters: Isaac Hooker, Sam Hooker, Mattie Doucette Hooker, Turner Hooker, Agnes Urquhart
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: 1960’s, 1970’s, Self-discovery, Intellectuals, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Religion, 1980’s, Despair, Mental illness, Death or dying, Materialism
- Locales: New Hampshire
In her first novel, Low Tide (1985), Fernanda Eberstadt established herself as a talented young writer. Critics, however, suggested that her characters seemed to stagnate in their obsessions, while her baroque, highly allusive style impeded the narrative. In her second novel, Isaac and His Devils, it is clear that Eberstadt has profited from the reviews of her first work. In the first chapter, she establishes her newborn protagonist as a sympathetic character, with much to overcome but with an admirable mind and will. From that point on, the story proceeds at a steady...
[The entire page is 2129 words long]
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