About the book
It’s not the dream that matters, it’s the telling of the dream – the words you choose, the risks you take in externalising your mind
This is a dreamlike portrait of a body in struggle to connect with itself and others. As the narrator contends with chronic pain, and with a pandemic raging in the background, she sets out to examine the literal and symbolic role of the mouth in the life of a writer.
Merging dreams and dailies, Pathemata recounts the narrator’s tragicomic search to alleviate her suffering, a search that eventually becomes a reckoning with various forms of loss – the loss of intimacy, the loss of her father and the loss of a pivotal friend and mentor. In exacting, distilled prose, her account blurs the lines between embodied, unconscious and everyday life.
With characteristic precision, humour and compassion, Nelson explores the limits of language to describe experience, while also offering a portrait of an unnerving and isolating time in our shared history. A stunning, original experiment in interiority by the adored author of Bluets and The Argonauts, Pathemata is a personal and poetic reckoning with pain and loss, both physical and emotional, as well as an uncanny meditation on love, affliction and resilience.
Editions of Pathemata
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781911717454
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781529951363
- EBook
- ISBN 9781529951387
- AudioStreaming
- ISBN 9781529963366
Read an Excerpt
It’s not the dream that matters, it’s the telling of the dream – the words you choose, the risks you take in externalising your mind
This is a dreamlike portrait of a body in struggle to connect with itself and others. As the narrator contends with chronic pain, and with a pandemic raging in the background, she sets out to examine the literal and symbolic role of the mouth in the life of a writer.
Merging dreams and dailies, Pathemata recounts the narrator’s tragicomic search to alleviate her suffering, a search that eventually becomes a reckoning with various forms of loss – the loss of intimacy, the loss of her father and the loss of a pivotal friend and mentor. In exacting, distilled prose, her account blurs the lines between embodied, unconscious and everyday life.
With characteristic precision, humour and compassion, Nelson explores the limits of language to describe experience, while also offering a portrait of an unnerving and isolating time in our shared history. A stunning, original experiment in interiority by the adored author of Bluets and The Argonauts, Pathemata is a personal and poetic reckoning with pain and loss, both physical and emotional, as well as an uncanny meditation on love, affliction and resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pathemata about?
It’s not the dream that matters, it’s the telling of the dream – the words you choose, the risks you take in externalising your mind
This is a dreamlike portrait of a body in struggle to connect with itself and others. As the narrator contends with chronic pain, and with a pandemic raging in the background, she sets out to examine the literal and symbolic role of the mouth in the life of a writer.
Merging dreams and dailies, Pathemata recounts the narrator’s tragicomic search to alleviate her suffering, a search that eventually becomes a reckoning with various forms of loss – the loss of intimacy, the loss of her father and the loss of a pivotal friend and mentor. In exacting, distilled prose, her account blurs the lines between embodied, unconscious and everyday life.
With characteristic precision, humour and compassion, Nelson explores the limits of language to describe experience, while also offering a portrait of an unnerving and isolating time in our shared history. A stunning, original experiment in interiority by the adored author of Bluets and The Argonauts, Pathemata is a personal and poetic reckoning with pain and loss, both physical and emotional, as well as an uncanny meditation on love, affliction and resilience.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Pathemata?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Biography and non-fiction prose > Memoirs
Where can I read a sample of Pathemata?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781911717454
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Pathemata?
Maggie Nelson
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Pathemata is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781911717454) and paperback(ISBN 9781529951363) and ebook(ISBN 9781529951387) and audiostreaming(ISBN 9781529963366)
Where can I buy Pathemata online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Pathemata from below
Where can I buy Pathemata?