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This Cleaving and This Burning
Guernica Editions, Fall 2020
292 pages
Trade Paperback
ISBN13: 9781771835664
ISBN10: 1771835664
English
$20.00 Canada, $17.95 US, £11.95 UK
Two unrelated, aspiring writers, born on the same day in the same year to parents with the same first names, grow up together and eventually gain national prominence as authors. But their complex sexual identities undermine their intense private relationship as the years pass, inflicting damage that cannot be undone by their public reputations or the excellence of their fiction and poetry. Inspired by the lives and work of American literary giants Ernest Hemingway and Hart Crane, This Cleaving and This Burning is a story of creative passions stoked by unspoken desires within the mind and heart.
On the path to the limestone cliffs he could smell the sweetness of the jasmine and tang of the pines. From the edge of the precipice he threw the box into the sea, wondering idly if Hornsby's arm was still as strong as ever. Back at the house he sat at his desk and poured himself a whiskey. They were lost to each other and he'd never see the bear again.
J.A. Wainwright’s novel is a moving, brilliantly written and often gripping portrait of two vividly imagined literary figures living and working in the early decades of the previous century. The story, enlivened by period detail, draws on the careers of Ernest Hemingway and Hart Crane, but though it makes use of the historical record and refers to many individuals who were alive at the time, it does not precisely mirror those authors’ experiences. In the story Wainwright conjures, Miller and Hal are two sides of a coin, representing the rational and intuitive aspects of the creative impulse.
Ian Colford
This Cleaving and This Burning is a bold and brilliant novel that will transport readers to another era. Andrew Wainwright tells the story of an intense friendship and forbidden desire. With great sensitivity, authentic characters and powerful scenes, this engaging tale burns into the mind and heart long after the journey has ended in its pages.
Sonia Saikaley, author of The Allspice Bath
I was enthralled by this story from the very first page. The distinct voices of the characters, compelling subject matter, and lyrical prose weave together to form a touching and unforgettable novel about identity, friendship, the secret desires of the heart, and love.
Anita Kushwaha, author of Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters
Awards
- Guernica Prize
Books by J.A. Wainwright
