Walking calmly into the storm of child sexual abuse A 40-year time frame, a large cast and shifting points of view bring nuance to this accomplished novel about consent, control and the transition to adulthood ‘Zinovieff writes the Thames as an anarchic, dirty presence coursing through the middle of London’. For many of us, recent
Putney by Sofka Zinovieff — bridge of sighs A man’s obsession with a young girl is recollected by both sides in a modern telling of ‘Lolita’ The front cover of Sofka Zinovieff’s second novel is a wink to Lolita, set against a backdrop of red buses and the bridge linking Putney to north London. The
The first time Ralph sets eyes on Daphne he’s attracted to her. He intrigues her too; she’s delighted that this idiosyncratic, charming acquaintance of her father’s, a talented composer, seems so intensely interested in her. Eventually they embark on a relationship. The problem is, Daphne is a child. She is barely into her teens and
‘Putney’ is the perfect book club pick for the #MeToo moment Thought-provoking and relevant, Sofka Zinovieff’s new novel “Putney” will provide plenty of book groups with fodder for discussions about female sexuality, child molestation, friendship and the #MeToo movement. The story is a nuanced portrayal of the relationship between a 30-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl, but
Sofka Zinovieff’s new novel, Putney, is an involving, beautifully written, and subtle account of an affair in the 1970s between Ralph, a composer in his thirties, and Daphne, a young girl, who is nine when she is first encountered: ‘Flitting, animal movements; narrowed, knowing eyes; dark, tangled hair; dirty bare feet.’ Enchanted by this creature,
A novel that interrogates the intersection of love, desire, and abuse. Ralph Boyd, a renowned avant-garde composer, is in his 70s and fighting cancer. Daphne Greenslay has emerged from a few volatile, precarious decades into middle-aged peace. She’s a single mother, living across the Thames from the home where she lived as a girl. Daphne
Putney by Sofka Zinovieff. I read this greedily over the course of a day – in a rush-hour taxi, in the brief exhalation between extra time and penalties, and in bed beside my kids with a fan on full blast. On obsession, abuse and atonement via three memory threads with complex and provocative consequences. A powerful
