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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'At once a psychological thriller and a social critique, Seven Types of Ambiguity is a novel of obsessive love in an age of obsessive materialism.
'Following years of unrequited love, an out-of-work schoolteacher decides to take matters into his own hands, triggering a chain of events no one could have anticipated.
'This is a story of impulse and paralysis, of empty marriages, lovers and a small boy, gambling and the market, of adult children and their parents, of poetry and prostitution, psychiatry and the law.'
Source: Publisher's blurb (Faber ed.).
Adaptations
-
form
y
Seven Types of Ambiguity
( dir. Glendyn Ivin
et. al. )agent
Australia
:
Matchbox Pictures
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
,
2017
10408355
2017
series - publisher
film/TV
thriller
'Seven-year-old Sam Marin is taken from his school. Much to the relief of his parents Anna and Joe, Sam is found unharmed hours later and the police arrest ex-school teacher, Simon Heywood. It’s not a matter of who took Sam, but a question of why.
'Told from the shifting perspectives of seven characters, this psychological mystery explores the complex emotional terrain of past and present relationships and the risks people will go to in the name of love.'
Source: ABC TV (http://about.abc.net.au/abc-in-2017/drama-lovers/). (Sighted: 04/11/2016)
Notes
-
Dedication: for Debbie
-
Epigraph:
God has pity on kindergarten children.
He has less pity on school children.
And on grownups he has no pity at all,
he leaves them alone,
and sometimes they must crawl on all fours... (Yehuda Amichai) -
Included in the New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books of the Year list for 2005.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also braille and sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Seven Types of Ambiguity
2017
extract
novel
— Appears in: Underline , March no. 2 2017; (p. 20-21)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel -
Seven Types of Ambiguity Review – Hugo Weaving Conjures Dark Magic Amid a Powerful Cast
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 10 April 2017; 'ABC TV’s adaptation of Elliot Perlman’s novel is full of electric performances, but turns down the heat on some of the story’s most thrilling elements.' -
Silent Triumph of the Individual : Social Investigation through Empathy in Elliot Perlman's Three Dollars, Seven Types of Ambiguity, and The Street Sweeper
2013
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Antipodes , December vol. 27 no. 2 2013; (p. 197-202)'The novels of Elliot Perlman encompass a wide variety of social observations and criticism in both contemporary and historical settings. Each novel, Three Dollars, Types of Ambiguity, and The Street Sweeper, most definitely constitutes a recognition of suffering and a cry against inhumanity. However, the principal purpose of these novels is not to wallow in awfulness, nor is it solely to educate readers as to the harder realities of life. Here, Duthie examines Perlman's three novels. ' (Publication summary)
-
Readers' Choice : Tales of Sensation and Sentiment
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 13 May 2012; (p. 17) -
A Magnificent Seven
2012
single work
column
— Appears in: Sunday Canberra Times , 11 March 2012; (p. 26)
-
Acts of Love
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 23-24 August 2003; (p. 10-11)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel ; Eva's Angel 2003 single work novel -
All About Their Ambiguity
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Age , 23 August 2003; (p. 4)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel -
Doubleman
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 23 August 2003; (p. 7)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel -
Perlman's Angry Novel Leaves Its Mark
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Jewish News , 29 August vol. 69 no. 51 2003; (p. 20)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel -
Greed is Good as a Conversation Piece
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 6-7 September 2003; (p. 14-15)
— Review of Seven Types of Ambiguity 2003 single work novel -
But Seriously...
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 16 August 2003; (p. 27, [31], [33]) -
A Searing Social Critique
2003
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 23 August 2003; (p. 3a) -
Unambiguous Rodomontade
2003-2004
single work
correspondence
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 257 2003-2004; (p. 4) -
Literary Names Give Award Fresh Life
2004
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 30 April 2004; (p. 15) -
Reams of Acclaim with No Ambiguity
2005
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 February 2005; (p. 10) A column canvassing current literary events including a section on the overseas reception of Elliot Perlman's Seven Types of Ambiguity.
Awards
- 2004 shortlisted Queensland Premier's Literary Awards — Best Fiction Book
- 2004 shortlisted Miles Franklin Literary Award
- 2004 shortlisted Commonwealth Writers Prize — South East Asia and South Pacific Region — Best Book
- Melbourne, Victoria,