Mrs. Caliban

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Mrs Caliban
MrsCalibanBookCoverHarvardCommonPress.jpg
Cover of the Harvard Common Press 2009 printing of Mrs. Caliban
Author Rachel Ingalls
CountryAmerica
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy novel
Publisher Harvard Common Press
Publication date
1982
Pages125 pages
ISBN 9780876451120
OCLC 802904945
813.54
LC Class PS3559.N38 M7 1983

Mrs. Caliban (1982) is a novella by Rachel Ingalls. [1] The plot concerns a lonely housewife who finds companionship with an amphibious sea monster named Larry. The book was reissued in 2017. [2]

Reception

The novella saw little critical or commercial success upon release until 1986, when it was named by the British Book Marketing Council as one of the top 20 American novels of the post-World War II period. [3]

The novella has received praise from notable authors Ursula K. Le Guin, Joyce Carol Oates, Daniel Handler, and Eleanor Catton. [4] The author John Updike praises the book for being "So deft and austere in its prose, so drolly casual in its fantasy. . . . An impeccable parable, beautifully written from first paragraph to last." [5]

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References

  1. Park, Ed (December 20, 2005). "They Never Forget". The Village Voice.
  2. Lamy, Nicole (March 27, 2017). "Dear Match Book: Hidden Gems". The New York Times.
  3. Taylor, Justin (December 1, 2017). "A lost-and-found surrealist treasure: 'Mrs. Caliban' by Rachel Ingalls". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. Zimmern, Jean (December 3, 2017). "Girl Meets Frog Monster In 'Mrs. Caliban'". NPR Book Reviews. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  5. Mehren, Elizabeth (April 2, 1986). "Obscure U.S. Author Begins Storybook Life : Her Third Book, 'Mrs. Caliban,' Hailed as One of the Top 20 Post-WWII American Novels". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019.