Bernice Rubens’ intriguing novel about a factory worker who is forced to change her drastic retirement plan when she receives a diary as a gift
The Elected Member
Written by Bernice Rubens
- Winner
- The Booker Prize 1970
- Published by Eyre & Spottiswoode
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Bernice Rubens explores what happens to a respectable, close-knit Jewish family when the apple of his parents’ eyes becomes a middle-aged drug addict
Norman was always ‘the clever one’. But in his early 40s, the infant prodigy turned brilliant barrister becomes a drug addict, confined to his bedroom at the mercy of his hallucinations. For Norman, his committal to a mental hospital represents the ultimate betrayal. For Rabbi Zweck, his son’s deterioration is a bitter reminder of his own guilt and failure. Only Bella, the unmarried sister, can bridge the abyss of pain to bring father and son the peace they both so desperately crave.
Bernice Rubens
Bernice Rubens became the first woman (and to date the only Welsh novelist) to win the Booker Prize when she triumphed in its second year, 1970, with The Elected Member
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