What a Piece of Work I Am
By Eric Kraft
1994
First Published
3.89
Average Rating
330
Number of Pages
Part of Series
Meet Ariane Lodkochnikov: clam-bar waitress, avant-garde actress, 1950s small-town bad girl, causeless rebel, boyhood crush, and ideal figment of the imagination of Peter Leroy. Peter is the engaging narrator of this novel; Ariane is the unreliable narrator of her own life. With Peter listening raptly, she weaves a tale of voyages—some erotic, some poignant, some hilariously disastrous, all leading her back to the seaside town of Babbington. Eric Kraft's novels featuring Peter Leroy offer more than meets the eye, and What a Piece of Work I Am is a treasure trove for readers: a woman's quest to escape her reputation, an echo-chamber of myth, and a fascinating meditiation on the human urge to tell and hear stories.
Avg Rating
3.89
Number of Ratings
55
5 STARS
35%
4 STARS
33%
3 STARS
22%
2 STARS
9%
1 STARS
2%
goodreads
Author
Eric Kraft
Author · 14 books
Eric Kraft grew up in Babylon, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island, where he was for a time co-owner and co-captain of a clam boat, which sank. He met or invented the character Peter Leroy while dozing over a German lesson during his first year at Harvard. The following year, he married his muse, Madeline Canning; they have two sons. After earning a Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Kraft taught school in the Boston area for a while, moonlighting as a rock music critic for the Boston Phoenix. Since then, he has undertaken a variety of hackwork to support the Kraft ménage and the writing of the voluminous work of fiction that he calls The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy. He has been the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts; was, briefly, chairman of PEN New England; and has been awarded the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
