Product Description

Originally published in 1994 to critical acclaim, Singing Songs still resonates as a profound statement about the secrets families keep from the rest of the world, as Anna, the resilient young narrator, journeys through childhood trapped in a fragmented family caught in a cycle of abuse, denial, and neglect. This new edition includes a foreword by the author, reflecting on how Singing Songs came to be written.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #468173 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 252 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780929636627
• Condition: USED - LIKE NEW
• Notes:
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From Publishers Weekly
Actress Tilly's debut novel portrays a young girl on the road with her vagabond family who finds strength within herself while facing an abusive stepfather.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Tilly, best known for her performances in feature films (Agnes of God, The Big Chill) here debuts as a novelist. The heroine of the story is Anna, one child of many growing up in a househould characterized by violence and abuse. The chapters read almost like short stories, with the time and locale changing as the family moves from place to place. The children are removed from school, beaten, and forced into incestuous relationships with most of their male relatives. Their occasional triumphs are heartening but come too rarely to offer any real hope for their future. Yet they try to protect one another from their stepfather, and their mutual love is touching. This is a promising first novel, and author recognition may create demand.---Kathy Ingels Helmond, formerly with Indiana Univ.
Purdue Univ. at Indianapolis Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
If Tilly's name rings a bell, it's as an actress, not a writer. Best known for her role in Agnes of God, Tilly will appear in a forthcoming film and is currently in a new dramatic television series. What sort of writer is she? Deceptively simplistic. Her first novel is a quick and episodic tale that takes place over the course of several years in the life of Anna, the very young and, ultimately, extremely brave and resilient narrator. Initially, Tilly's attempt at articulating the mind of a child seems contrived and cute, but suddenly the reality of Anna's world hits us hard, and we realize that this flat tone of voice is a form of protection a distancing if you will. This is Tonya Harding country, the scrabbly backwoods of the Northwest, circa 1969. A divorced mother of four, Anna's mom is eager to remarry, but second husband Richard is no godsend. He has three children of his own and is a complete lout. They are poor, sloppy, dissolute people, and every child in their grubby household suffers from hunger, neglect, and physical and sexual abuse. As disturbing as the scenes of outright cruelty are, it's the subtler moments that reveal the wretchedness of their life, such as when Anna watches her mother pretend, in front of neighbors or social workers, to be "concerned like a normal mother." But Anna is tough and bighearted, and like most children, capable of joy under fire. Her ability to see beyond the squalor of her home is her ticket out, and she epitomizes our gift for transcendence. Donna Seaman

Customer Reviews

A WELL-WRITTEN STORY OF PAIN AND SURVIVAL...
...and the really sad thing is that it's a story that's repeated too often in real life (a fact that should be recognized by the number of fictional works dealing with this subject). All of the books written around the subject of sexual abuse (and I'm not giving away anything by mentioning that -- it's obvious from the inside cover flap) are not as well-written as this, however.

Tilly has captured the essence of any book that sets out to tell a story from the perspective of a child -- she has found an authentic voice for her young narrator, without coming across as patronizing or forced. Young Anna's thoughts and memories ring very true, allowing the reader to plunge into her frightening world and experience it along with her. In the course of the story, she frequently experiences stomach cramps -- no doubt from anxiety -- and I actually felt myself feeling them in several places in the narrative.

One of the most heart-wrenching things about Anna's story is that, more than any other book I can remember that deals with this subject, she is subjected to abuse by so many perpetrators -- not just her stepfather (again, this is mentioned on the cover flap), but several other adults and even children more or less her own age. The strength and determination that she shows (and that actual survivors must draw upon if they are not to remain victims for the rest of their lives) is amazing. It hurts to read about a child being subjected to such horrors as Anna is forced to endure -- but it's an eye-opening experience for the reader. It's also important to remember that these horrors actually happen to more children 'in real life' than most people would dare to imagine -- I think it's the great shame of our so-called 'civilization' that it happens at all.

Meg Tilly has shown with this novel that she's not only a talented actress -- she's a talented writer as well. I hope, with this novel 'out of her system', she chooses to give us more tastes of this side of her abilities.

Meg Tilly is a fabulous writer!
I read the original edition of Ms. Tilly's debut novel about 2 years ago and greatly enjoyed it. She reminds me of Dorothy Allison in a lot of ways -- similar subject matter, similar compelling story, you can't put it down, despite the horrors these abused children endure at the hands of their mother and stepfather, along with his sons. I re-read Singing Songs recently -- I got my grubby little hands on an advance reader's copy of the new edition of Singing Songs being reissued this fall by Syren Book Company, at the same time the publisher is releasing Gemma, Ms. Tilly's second novel. This new edition is BRILLIANT! Ms. Tilly wrote a foreword to the new edition that will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! As will the new cover art. All I can say about the new cover of Singing Songs is: a picture is worth a thousand words. Ms. Tilly's decision not to make any more movies may be film buffs' loss -- but the fact that she's writing fiction is book readers' gain.

Not Fiction
This is a wonderful book as most everyone states, but it is not fiction. Meg Tilly has recently admitted that this is a true account of her childhood. Keep that in mind as you read...