Penguin Random House South Africa

Categories: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, International Fiction, Adult, New Releases
ISBN: 9780241766859
Published: August 2025
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Page Extent: 224
Format: Paperback
RRP 275.00

I Am Clarence

Elaine Kraf

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About the book

A haunting novel exploring a mother's fierce love for her disabled son as she grapples with her own mental health, by the author of the feminist cult classic The Princess of 72nd Street

'Funny, disarming and frequently ruthless' The New York Times

Clarence cannot see very well. He has seizures. He knows the word 'tangerine' but has forgotten the word 'Mommy'. For Clarence's mother, life revolves around her young son; she takes him to see specialists, protects him from the cruelty of other children, loves him fiercely. But she has her own struggles. Her sanity is precarious and fractured. When her mental health reaches breaking point, she is forced to decide between Clarence's well-being and her own.

Told through bright fragments of...

About the Author

Elaine Kraf

Elaine Kraf

Elaine Kraf (1936—2013) was a writer and painter. She was the author of four published works of fiction: I Am Clarence (1969), The House of Madelaine (1971), Find Him! (1977) and The Princess of 72nd Street (1979)—as well as several unpublished novels, plays and poetry collections. She was the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts awards, a 1971 fellowship at the Broad Loaf Writers’ Conference and a 1977 residency at Yaddo. She was born and lived in New York City.

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