Owls Do Cry

Owls Do Cry is Janet Frame's first novel. She describes her idea behind it in the second volume of her autobiography: 'Pictures of great treasure in the midst of sadness and waste haunted me and I began to think, in fiction, of a childhood, home life, hospital life, using people known to me as a base for main characters, and inventing minor characters.'Regarded by many as one of the best New Zealand novels published, Owls Do Cry forms a loose trilogy with her two subsequent novels, Faces in the Water and The Edge of the Alphabet.

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2008 Winner of New Zealand Literary Fund Award for Achievement 1958

"Janet Frame is one of the most poignant and moving of writers." -- Amazon
"Janet Frame is one of New Zealand's literary treasures, and her first novel, Owls Do Cry, published in 1957, is considered a masterpiece. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the novel chronicles the harrowing experiences of 14-year-old Daphne, diagnosed schizophrenic and confined to a mental institution. Much of Daphne's story unfolds in stream-of-consciousness ramblings, the hallucinatory, lyrical poetry that marks the music of madness. Heather Bolton's voice is soft and intriguing, a voice clearly from another world. When Daphne sings her poetry, Bolton's wispy, compelling school-girl soprano confirms that this book is a perfect fit for audio. Voices from the outside world come mainly from Daphne's sister, Teresa's, detailed diaries. Bolton handles the more grounded prose with ease, while making Daphne's surreal interior monologues strange, beautiful, and haunting" -- AudioFile Magazine

Janet Frame (1924–2004) is New Zealand's most distinguished and celebrated writer. She wrote eleven novels, four collections of short stories, a book of poetry, a children's book, and a three-volume autobiography. Heather Bolton is a Melbourne-based actor who has extensive stage and screen experience. After winning a GOFTA for her role as Meg in Gaylene Preston’s 1985 debut feature Mr Wrong, she went on to feature in television series Blue Heelers, Stingers, Rush and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and films Illustrious Energy, Rainbow’s End and The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark. Heather also writes and performs in plays for Melbourne’s Ranters Theatre.

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