May SartonAs We Are Now"I am not mad, only old. . . . I am in a concentration camp for the old." So begins May Sarton's short, swift blow of a novel, about the powerlessness of the old and the rage it can bring. As We Are Now tells the story of Caroline Spencer, a 76-year-old retired schoolteacher, mentally strong but physically frail, who has been moved by relatives into a "home." Subjected to subtle humiliations and petty cruelties, sustained for too short a time by the love of another person, she fights back with all she has, and in a powerful climax wins a terrible victory."May Sarton has never been better than she is in this beautiful, harrowing novel about being old, unwanted, yet refusing to give up. . . . The problems of old age have been detailed by sociologists but only a novel as searching and deeply felt as this one can bring them so close to the bone."—Margaret Manning, Boston Globe "An important, brilliant novel, dealing with a problem we'd all rather close our eyes to. As I read, I shared the anger and the righteous indignation which I felt behind every line. But more than this, the anger and indignation are always contained by compassion, compassion which purges and redeems." —Madeleine L'Engle
"A brief, strong statement. . . . A convincing record of evil done and
good intentions gone astray. . . . A powerful indictment." —Ellen Douglas,
New York Times Book Review
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1992 / paperback / ISBN 0-393-30957-6 / 5-1/2" x 8-1/4" / 144 pages / Fiction | |||||
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