The Idea Of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
Harley Savage is a plain woman, a part-time museum curator and quilting expert with three failed marriages and a heart condition. Douglas Cheeseman is a shy, gawky engineer with jug-handle ears, one marriage gone sour, and a crippling lack of physical courage. They meet in the little Australian town of Karakarook, where Harley has arrived to help the town build a heritage museum and Douglas to demolish the quaint old Bent Bridge. From the beginning they are on a collision course until the unexpected sets them both free. Elegantly and compassionately told, The Idea of Perfection is reminiscent of the work of Carol Shields and Annie Proulx and reveals Kate Grenville as "a writer of extraordinary talent" (The New York Times Book Review).
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On Apr 2, 2015, CloggieDownunder said
The Idea of Perfection is the fifth novel by Australian author, Kate Grenville. Set in the dying country town of Karakarook, NSW, pop.1374, the story revolves around the Bent Bridge: the Heritage mob (Karakarook Heritage Museum Committee) believes it can attract tourists; the Shire councillors want to tear this now-dangerous construction down. Enter divorcee Douglas Cheeseman, engineer from the Lands Office, in town to tear down the old bridge and start construction of the replacement. A self-confessed bridge bore who suffers from fear of heights, he can see a way to save the old bridge but lacks the guts to do anything about it. The other newcomer in town is Harley Savage, Consultant (Part-time) to the Curator (Textiles) at the Sydney Museum of Applied Arts, here to help establish the Karakarook Heritage Museum on a grant from the Cultural Affairs Board. Descended from famous artists, Harley, who has gone through three husbands, considers herself a danger to anyone who gets too close; she is big and clumsy, and lacks creativity, except when it comes to quilts. Felicity, neurotic wife of Hugh Porcelline, manager of the Karakarook branch of the Land & Pastoral Bank, believes that the local butcher, Alfred Chang, is in love with her. How their lives intersect is made into a mesmerising story by this talented novelist. Grenville’s descriptions bring her characters vividly to life and she conveys the feel of the country town and “the bush” so well, the reader almost feels the heat and the flies. City dwellers Harley and Douglas find this town different: “But out here, she could see people went by different rules. You did not just pick out the best bits of life. You took the whole lot, the good and the bad. You forgave people for being who they were, and you hoped they would be able to forgive you. Now and again you were rewarded with the small pleasure of being able to laugh, not uproariously but genuinely, at a small witticism offered by someone who was usually a bore. More than the heat and the flies, that was what made the bush feel like another country, where anything was possible.” Grenville has the power to made the reader laugh and squirm and think about life and being perfect, or not. Winner of the 2001 Orange Prize, this was a wonderful read, my favourite Grenville book so far, and I think it would make an excellent movie.
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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- 2000
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Picador, Sydney, 2000. Reprint. Softcover. Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. Signed by Author. 350 g; 404 pages, last page blank, the book has been read, and shows of minus signs of rubbing to the edges of the illustrated wrapper. Signed and dated 2001 by the author. Size: Trade Paperback. The author has signed the book… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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Picador / Pan Macmillan, 1999. Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed. Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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Pan Macmillan. Good. 197mm / 131mm. Paperback. 2000. 401 pages. Cover worn <br>By the winner of the Orange Prize for F iction 2001, this is a witty and tender romance that demonstrates that sometimes, unexpectedly, there can be something better than perfection.Grenville makes awkward atmospheres and fumbling enco unters wonderfully vivid. Read it and cringe' The Times The… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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Pan Books, UK, 2009. Medium Trade Paperback. Good. Medium Trade Paperback. 401 pages. *** PUBLISHING DETAILS: Pan Books, UK, 2009. *** CONDITION: This book is in good condition. More specifically: Covers have light creasing. Edges of covers have superficial edgewear and corners are lightly bumped. Spine has minimal reading creases. . Pages are lightly tanned.… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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Viking Adult, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. Like New/Like New. First Edition, First Printing. Not price-clipped ($24.95 price intact). Published by Viking, 2002. Octavo. Brown cloth boards stamped in blue. Book is like new; clean with no writing or names. Sharp corners and spine straight. Binding tight and pages crisp. Publisher's mark on bottom of page ends. Dust jacket… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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Picador, 2003. Soft cover. Fine. signed. Inscribed by Author(s)The wraps are slightly rubbed. Internally clean and tightly bound.. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services. Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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London, Eng: Picador, 2001. Book. Very Good. Mass Market Paperback. Signed by Author(s). First Thus. First edition, first printing as evidenced by a complete number line from 1 to 9; signed by Kate Grenville on the title page with no inscription; some edge wear to card covers and a bit of age toning to paper; otherwise a solid, clean copy… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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New York, New York: Viking Press, 2002. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). American First. First edition, first printing as evidenced by a complete number line from 1 to 10; signed by Kate Grenville on the title page with no inscription; some edge wear to boards and dust jacket; one tiny ink mark on fore-edge; otherwise a solid, clean… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
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New York, New York: Viking Pr. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 2002. First American Edition. Hardcover. 0670030805 . A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall; Signed by Author . Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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Picador. Paperback. Used; Good. Simply Brit welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring theres something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Grenville Kate
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London: Picador, 2000. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Fine/Fine in Pictorial Wraps. First Printing. PAPERBACK ORIGINAL. Winner of the Orange Prize, Author of JOAN MAKES HISTORY.
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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The idea of perfection
by Grenville, Kate
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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- 2001
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- Paperback
- ISBN
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Picador, 2001. Standard. Paperback. Very Good. Outline:- Harley Savage is a large, rawboned, plain person with a ragged haircut and a white t-shirt coming unstitched along the shoulder. Douglas Cheeseman is a big-eared man who avoids his own reflection, and has bored his wife into leaving him. They are not the usual suspects for a burgeoning romance.-> the… Read more about this item Item Price
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The Idea of Perfection
by Kate Grenville
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Penguin Publishing Group, 2002. Hardcover. Very Good. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed. Item Price
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