The Binding Chair

Description

'A vivid family saga. The characters come alive on the page. May a delightful puzzle of contradictions, Arthur a loveable fool, and his neurotic sister Dolly and her kind but neglectful stockmarket whiz of a husband provide ample entertainment. Harrison has also convincingly captured the Shanghai of the early 20th century, a jarring, cacophonous, swarming city of possibility.' Evening Standard 'This is a tale as absorbing and exciting as Arthur Golden's Memoirs Of A Geisha. The use of a fast-paced, two sided narrative, combined with the recurring theme of May's disfigurement, propel the reader, fascinated and appalled, through the pages' Sunday Express 'The Binding Chair is a disturbing, beautifully plotted novel, intricate in its detail and panoramic in its sweep. The main strand follows the life of May, a compelling, contradictory figure, both wonderful and terrible for her lack of illusions. Themes and images ripple through the novel. It presents us with a world in which tragedy is natural and everyday, where beauty is a reminder of cruelty.' Daily Telegraph

Kathryn Harrison is a graduate of Stanford University and of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her first novel, Thicker than Water, was a New York Times Notable Book, as was her second, Exposure. Her most recent novel is A Thousand Orange Trees. She is also the author of The Kiss which received critical acclaim. She lives in New York City with her husband, the writer Colin Harrison and their children.

'A spellbinding novel, ruthless, moving and utterly without sentiment.' Mail on Sunday 'The Binding Chair is a disturbing, beautifully plotted novel, intricate in its detail and panoramic in its sweep. It presents us with a world in which tragedy is natural and everyday, where beauty is a reminder of cruelty.' Daily Telegraph 'Harrison's mesmeric voice compels the reader towards the inevitable climax. The Binding Chair is a beautiful account of the lives of two very different women and the difficulties they face in their quest for independence.' Observer 'A vivid family saga. The characters come alive on the page. Harrison has convincingly captured the Shanghai of the early twentieth-century, a jarring, cacophonous, swarming city of possibility.' Evening Standard