Panics

Panics
Barbara Molinard, Emma Ramadan, Marguerite Duras
RRP:
NZ$ 32.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 26.39
Paperback
h209 x 127mm - 128pg
27 Oct 2022 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9781558612952
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
A haunting, bizarre short story collection about violence, mental illness, and the warped contradictions of the twentieth-century female experience. A close friend and protege of Marguerite Duras, Barbara Molinard (1921-1986) wrote and wrote feverishly, but only managed to publish one book in her lifetime: the surreal, nightmarish collection Panics. These thirteen stories beat with a frantic, off-kilter rhythm as Molinard obsesses over sickness, death, and control. A woman becomes transfixed by a boa constrictor at her local zoo, mysterious surgeons dismember their patient, and the author narrates to Duras how she was stopped from sleeping in a cemetery vault, only to be haunted by the pain of sleeping on its stone floor. In the unsettling tradition of Franz Kafka, Djuna Barnes, Leonara Carrington, and more, Panics recovers the work of a tormented writer who often destroyed her writing as soon as she produced it, and whose insights into violence, mental illness, and bodily autonomy are simultaneously absurdist and razor-sharp.
"Startling and surreal. . . . Ramadan' s translation is a great gift to readers. " -Publisher' s Weekly (starred review) "Surreal, mesmerizing, and darkly unhinged. " -Astra Magazine "These surreal, claustrophobic stories bear similarities to the works of Samuel Beckett and Leonora Carrington, but Molinard writes in a voice that is entirely her own. . . Through Ramadan' s spare and exacting translation, Molinard presents a terrifying portrait of violence and mental illness. " -The New York Times "Notorious for having destroyed most of her writing, Barbara Molinard has given us a sacred gift in Panics. These stories are rendered with a mastery that directly conveys the preciousness of life. At the end, I found myself in a bit of panic, so to speak-how to go on having seen something so gorgeous? " -Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez "Like the disembodied hands and faceless lovers in these stories, there is as much presented as there is withheld in Panics, Barbara Molinard' s singular collection. Marguerite Duras tells us that Molinard destroyed most of her own writing, and I' m fascinated by what' s left out, what' s left unseen, in this essential text. " -Stephanie LaCava, author of I Fear My Pain Interests You"To read Barbara Molinard' s surreal, tormented, tender, and brutal stories is to dive into the wreck and then witness a singular talent at work. Lucid, horror-drenched, droll, absurd, Panics is perfect reading for the nightmare that is the present. A shriek from the archives, a gift to us all. " -Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different "With its unique, haunting imagery and Kafkaesque momentum, Panics reads like a series of lucid dreams. A gleaming, razor-sharp book that has lost none of its edge in Emma Ramadan' s masterful English translation. " -Olivia Baes, cotranslator of Me & Other Writing
Barbara Molinard (1921-1986) wrote and wrote, but published only one book: a collection of short stories titled Viens. Everything she wrote, she immediately tore up, and it was only through the relentless urging from her husband, the filmmaker Patrice Molinard, and her friend Marguerite Duras, that she finally handed over a single collection of stories to Editions Mercure de France in 1969. Emma Ramadan is an educator and literary translator from French. She is the recipient of the PEN Translation Prize, the Albertine Prize, an NEA Fellowship, and a Fulbright. Her translations include Abdellah Taia' s A Country for Dying, Virginie Despentes' s Pretty Things, and Barbara Molinard' s Panics.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781558612952
Published: 27 Oct 2022
Published In: United States
Imprint: Feminist Press at The City University of New York
Publisher: Feminist Press at The City University of New York
Format: Paperback
Height: 209mm
Width: 127mm
Pages: 128

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information

Details of the product above will be automatically included with your enquiry.