In the Place of Fallen Leaves

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In the Place of Fallen Leaves
InThePlaceOfFallenLeaves.jpg
First edition
Author Tim Pears
Cover artistEmma Parker [1]
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Hamish Hamilton (UK)
Donald I Fine (US)
Publication date
1993 (UK), 1995 (US)
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages320
ISBN 0-241-13322-X

In the Place of Fallen Leaves is Tim Pears's debut novel, published in 1993. It won the Ruth Hadden Memorial Award in 1993 [2] and the Hawthornden Prize in 1994. [3]

Contents

Inspiration

On his website, Tim Pears reveals that the novel is set in the Devon village where he grew up (Trusham [4] on the edge of Dartmoor) He had written many 'appalling' poems in his twenties then adapted one into a story; this liberated him and he never wrote another poem; just stories which eventually became this, his first novel. He cites his other influences as Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude , Marc Chagall’s paintings of the Russian Pale, Mikhail Sholokhov’s tales of Don Cossacks, and New Zealander Vincent Ward’s film Vigil . [5]

Plot introduction

It is set in the long, hot summer of 1984 in an isolated Devon village on the edge of Dartmoor where thirteen-year-old Alison is growing up, the youngest member of a farming family. The story covers scenes from Alison's own life as well as those of her neighbours, siblings, parents and grandparents.

Reception

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References

  1. "In the Place of Fallen Leaves by Tim Pears: Fine Hardcover (1993) First Edition., Signed by Author | bunkembooks". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  2. "Tim Pears". Ruskin. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. "Tim Pears". A. M. Heath. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  4. "Authors Celebrate Club Anniversary". Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)