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The Pure Weight of the Heart
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The Pure Weight of the Heart
The Pure Weight of the Heart is Antonella Gambotto-Burke's first novel and third book. It peaked at number six on The Sydney Morning Herald bestseller list. Published by Orion Publishing in London in 1998, it was translated into German by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (DTV) in 2000. Tatler's Book of the Month, The Pure Weight of the Heart reflected a number of themes found in The Astronomer, a short story Gambotto-Burke wrote in 1989. In its section 'What to say about the book', Tatler suggested: "Funny how the most odious characters in print are always so much worse in real life."
Classified as "post-multicultural fiction," The Pure Weight of the Heart attracted a strong critical reception. In his review of the book, Australian author Matthew Condon wrote, "From the outset, The Pure Weight of the Heart establishes its own rich, often infuriating, often ungraspable, often highly satisfying tone. It is a tone that often eludes a first-time novelist ... [Gambotto's] picture of the London literary scene is without rival ... a novel of considerable gusto and daring." The Herald Sun agreed: "Gambotto has successfully combined humor, sarcasm and insight to write a novel that cuts through the polished facade of society life." The Sunday Times (Perth) critic decided that The Pure Weight of the Heart showcased "the empathy and passion of a Bronte novel." The Townsville Bulletin called the novel "dense and lush," and SundayLife! magazine described its style as "unfurl[ing] with cool control."
The Daily Telegraph critic Lucy Clark wrote that the novel was "both overwritten and at times beautiful. It is florid and ornamental, lavish and extravagant. It alternates between poignancy, witty observation, repetitively lyrical sex and soap opera romantics ... Part literary, part social commentary, part bodice-ripper, it doesn't seem to know what it is, except a love story."
Who (magazine) held the novel as evidence of Gambotto-Burke's "major literary talent". And after criticising the sometimes impenetrable prose, Harper's Bazaar features editor Louise Upton decided that "the detail of the fiction verges on social reality."
Although she concluded that there was "lots to admire" in the book, Irish heiress Daphne Guinness had trouble with the "over the top" sex scenes: "Move over, Anaïs Nin."
The novel, narrated in first person and divided into three volumes, is the story of Angelica Botticelli, an Italian-born Australian, and astrophysicist from an apparently wealthy background. Born in Italy to an Austrian mother and Italian father, Angelica is a troubled woman in search of love:
"From birth, Angelica is destined to fall in love with an angel. At ten, her blissful childhood is destroyed by the death of her father. Only the stars in the sky at night give her hope. Years later, the adult Angelica, beautiful and gifted, and still a student of the stars, drifts through a world of glamour, power and cruelty, until the night she finally finds her angel, in the heart of the extravagance she has come to despise." (Antonella Gambotto, The Pure Weight Of The Heart, blurb, Orion Publishing 1998)
The novel is divided into three volumes, and the title of each volume directly refers to its main theme: Book One: Grief is a Sphere, which details her childhood, adolescence and reaction to her father's murder. Book Two: A Lycanthropic God, which details her move back to Sydney from London, secretly hostile relationship with her bogan flatmate, Caroline Brine, and discovery of her "angel", the aptly named Gabriel (his surname, Lagen, is an anagram of "angel"), and their ensuing relationship. Book Three: The Bestiary, which details a trip to Chicago to see her mother, brother and mother's second husband, the truly vile Aldo Belva ("belva" means "beast" in Italian), and the characters attending the week-long party, who form "The Bestiary" for which the volume is named.
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The Pure Weight of the Heart
The Pure Weight of the Heart is Antonella Gambotto-Burke's first novel and third book. It peaked at number six on The Sydney Morning Herald bestseller list. Published by Orion Publishing in London in 1998, it was translated into German by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag (DTV) in 2000. Tatler's Book of the Month, The Pure Weight of the Heart reflected a number of themes found in The Astronomer, a short story Gambotto-Burke wrote in 1989. In its section 'What to say about the book', Tatler suggested: "Funny how the most odious characters in print are always so much worse in real life."
Classified as "post-multicultural fiction," The Pure Weight of the Heart attracted a strong critical reception. In his review of the book, Australian author Matthew Condon wrote, "From the outset, The Pure Weight of the Heart establishes its own rich, often infuriating, often ungraspable, often highly satisfying tone. It is a tone that often eludes a first-time novelist ... [Gambotto's] picture of the London literary scene is without rival ... a novel of considerable gusto and daring." The Herald Sun agreed: "Gambotto has successfully combined humor, sarcasm and insight to write a novel that cuts through the polished facade of society life." The Sunday Times (Perth) critic decided that The Pure Weight of the Heart showcased "the empathy and passion of a Bronte novel." The Townsville Bulletin called the novel "dense and lush," and SundayLife! magazine described its style as "unfurl[ing] with cool control."
The Daily Telegraph critic Lucy Clark wrote that the novel was "both overwritten and at times beautiful. It is florid and ornamental, lavish and extravagant. It alternates between poignancy, witty observation, repetitively lyrical sex and soap opera romantics ... Part literary, part social commentary, part bodice-ripper, it doesn't seem to know what it is, except a love story."
Who (magazine) held the novel as evidence of Gambotto-Burke's "major literary talent". And after criticising the sometimes impenetrable prose, Harper's Bazaar features editor Louise Upton decided that "the detail of the fiction verges on social reality."
Although she concluded that there was "lots to admire" in the book, Irish heiress Daphne Guinness had trouble with the "over the top" sex scenes: "Move over, Anaïs Nin."
The novel, narrated in first person and divided into three volumes, is the story of Angelica Botticelli, an Italian-born Australian, and astrophysicist from an apparently wealthy background. Born in Italy to an Austrian mother and Italian father, Angelica is a troubled woman in search of love:
"From birth, Angelica is destined to fall in love with an angel. At ten, her blissful childhood is destroyed by the death of her father. Only the stars in the sky at night give her hope. Years later, the adult Angelica, beautiful and gifted, and still a student of the stars, drifts through a world of glamour, power and cruelty, until the night she finally finds her angel, in the heart of the extravagance she has come to despise." (Antonella Gambotto, The Pure Weight Of The Heart, blurb, Orion Publishing 1998)
The novel is divided into three volumes, and the title of each volume directly refers to its main theme: Book One: Grief is a Sphere, which details her childhood, adolescence and reaction to her father's murder. Book Two: A Lycanthropic God, which details her move back to Sydney from London, secretly hostile relationship with her bogan flatmate, Caroline Brine, and discovery of her "angel", the aptly named Gabriel (his surname, Lagen, is an anagram of "angel"), and their ensuing relationship. Book Three: The Bestiary, which details a trip to Chicago to see her mother, brother and mother's second husband, the truly vile Aldo Belva ("belva" means "beast" in Italian), and the characters attending the week-long party, who form "The Bestiary" for which the volume is named.