The Illusion of Separateness

Available
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Product Details
Price
$18.99
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publish Date
Pages
224
Dimensions
5.3 X 8.0 X 0.6 inches | 0.4 pounds
Language
English
Type
Paperback
EAN/UPC
9780062248459

Earn by promoting books

Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.

Become an affiliate
About the Author

Simon Van Booy is the author of two novels and two collections of short stories, including The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter, which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. He is the editor of three philosophy books and has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, and the BBC. His work has been translated into fourteen languages. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

"The uncanny beauty of Van Booy's prose, and his ability to knife straight to the depths of a character's heart, fill a reader with wonder....There are so many wonderful sentences in this book, a reviewer groans for want of room to list them." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"Masterful prose....From minimalistic sentences he wrings out maximum impact, stripping away artifice and elaboration in favor of stark, emotional clarity and honesty." -- Boston Globe

"His writing is consciously poetic and at times aphoristic, and he deftly portrays his characters' raw emotions." -- Wall Street Journal

"Van Booy writes like Hemingway but with more heart. It's a gorgeous story about people whose lives are connected all because of a baby who is saved during World War II. Warning: don't read this in public, or you might sob in front of strangers." -- New Hampshire Public Radio

"World War II flashbacks, random acts of kindness, and the amazing thing that happens when seemingly disparate story lines come full circle." -- Daily Candy

"Using restraint and a subtle dose of foreshadowing, Van Booy expertly entangles these disparate lives; but it's what he leaves out that captures the imagination. Full of clever staccato sentences bookended by snippets of inner monologue -- obvious, but ripe with meaning, the writing is what makes this remarkable book soar." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A spare, elliptical story of human connection, framed by the horror of World War II....The story snaps together beautifully. A brilliant if elusive novel that shows how a single act can echo through time." -- Library Journal

"This short and deceptively simple novel, which affords the pleasure of discovering its well-wrought patterns, is likely to grow in stature as it lingers in memory." -- Booklist