''The Pure Gold Baby'' is British novelist

Margaret Drabble Dame Margaret Drabble, Lady Holroyd, (born 5 June 1939) is an English biographer, novelist and short story writer. Drabble's books include '' The Millstone'' (1965), which won the following year's John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, and '' Je ...

's 18th novel, first published in 2013. The novel was her first novel to be published in seven years, following ''The Sea Lady''. In 2009, Drabble had pledged not to write fiction again, for fear of "repeating herself." The novel follows an anthropologist, who accidentally gets pregnant but decides to keep the child. The novel focuses on examining upper crust of 1960s and 70s London, through the academic and analytical perspective of the character's anthropological training. Drabble took the title from a phrase in

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet and author. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for '' The Colossus and Other Poems'' (1960), '' Ariel'' (1965), a ...

's poem "

Lady Lazarus "Lady Lazarus" is a poem written by Sylvia Plath, originally included in ''Ariel,'' which was published in 1965, two years after her death by suicide. This poem is commonly used as an example of her writing style. It is considered one of Plath's b ...

Critical reception

''The Guardian'' reviewer, Elizabeth Day, had mixed feelings about the novel noting that, "There is a tendency to dissect characters rather than coax them into full-bodied life: their actions are coolly recounted instead of being explained." However, Day concludes that the novel "asks us to consider what it means to live a worthwhile life .. andthe result is a unique and profoundly stirring book. Writing for the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, Heller McAlpin dislikes the narrator, writing that she is an "unfortunate" choice by Drabble, and is disappointed in the resulting narrative, writing that, "Readers may wish for a greater sense of significance rom the novel" Novelist

Meg Wolitzer Meg Wolitzer (born May 28, 1959) is an American novelist, known for '' The Wife'', ''The Ten-Year Nap'', ''The Uncoupling,'' ''The Interestings'', and ''The Female Persuasion.'' She is a co-director of the BookEnds writing fellowship program at St ...

, in an

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

review, wrote that "It's definitely a low-key novel, and slightly remote, but it's also original and ultimately really affecting. I found a kind of sombre bravery in the story of this unwavering, intelligent woman and her guileless and beautiful child."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pure Gold Baby 2013 British novels Canongate Books books Novels by Margaret Drabble

Critical reception

Further reading

References