Praise for the Keepers of the Frame

The Observer review of Janet Frame's posthumously published novel Towards Another Summer, released today in the UK by Virago, is a brilliant review of a superb novel:

"The novel is exciting for its language - it plays with poetry, magical realism and metaphor in genuinely daring ways - and for the way it embraces themes that will later be central to Frame's best work: the dichotomy between inner and outer worlds, between fantasy and reality, between innocence and experience."

But reviewer Rachel Cooke also provides a heartwarming affirmation for the efforts of the Frame Estate to balance the wishes of the author with the appetites of the audience. She notes that sometimes the estates of great authors seem to make questionable decisions in their rush to publish inferior or leftover material. This is indeed something the Janet Frame trustees are aware of and extremely keen to avoid, and it is gratifying that Cooke recognises it:

"It feels surprisingly right to hold Towards Another Summer, with its modest, non-attention seeking cover, in one's hands. It is a short novel, but a numinous one. This time, the keepers of the flame did the right thing."

Here's the link:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,,2288022,00.htm