Dying, In Other Words
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 First edition | |
| Author | Maggie Gee |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harvester Press |
Publication date | 1981 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 215 |
| ISBN | 0-71-080030-4 |
Dying, in Other Words is the debut novel of English author Maggie Gee, variously described as surrealist and modern gothic.[1] It garnered "rave reviews" in The Observer and The Times.[2] According to the OUP's Good Fiction Guide, it is a "vividly written experimental novel" and made a "strong impression" when it was published in 1981.[3] Containing "postmodernist gimmicks"[4] and self-refexive structures,[5] it concerns a supposedly dead woman rewriting the story of her own death.[6]
The novel led to Gee appearing on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list for 1983.[7] In a 2012 interview, Maggie Gee says: "I see it as partly luck – the novel came out in July when nothing much was published then, the first review was a rave in The Observer, then The Times ran an extract and everyone fell into line, because critics are easily influenced."[8]
In a 1997 interview, Gee admits: "I was 25 when I wrote that book, and I suppose I had more of an exhibitionist streak at that age. I had such fun with the playfulness. As I got older I realised that being categorized as experimental, although it gets you lots of review space, is death; also that you can frighten a lot of readers off."[1]