Still Life with Woodpecker Study Guide

This novel is a complex, sardonic interweaving of fairy tale and philosophy. It tells the sometimes violent, often outrageous and occasionally sentimental story of the sexual and emotional coming of age of its heroine, the idealistic Leigh-Cheri, a princess of the kingdom of the heart. Its short chapters, digressions into authorial opinion, eccentric imagery and near-delirious use of language, all grounded in a thematic exploration of the nature and manifestations of idealism, create a powerful sense of pointed playfulness. In an engaging atmosphere, its simultaneously down to earth and dreamy characters find moonstruck moments of transcendent truth in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. (read more)