Roffey, Monique 1965-

PERSONAL:

Born 1965, in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Education: Holds a degree from University of East Anglia; Lancaster University, M.A. (with distinction), doctoral studies.

ADDRESSES:

Home—London, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Amnesty International, human rights activist; Arvon Foundation, Devon, England, codirector of Totleigh Barton Centre, 2002-06; University of Sussex, Sussex, England, Royal Literary Fund fellow and writer in residence, 2006—.

WRITINGS:

Sun Dog (novel), Scribner (London, England), 2002, published as August Frost, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor of short fiction to journals, including New Writing 13 and Matter.

SIDELIGHTS:

Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and later moved to England, where she attended Lancaster University and worked as a journalist and human rights activist. Her debut novel, Sun Dog, published as August Frost in the United States, was critically well received. The book combines the qualities of fantasy and fable in a realistic framework, chronicling the journey of August, a Londoner in his thirties whose body suffers strange alterations according to the seasons. August goes in search of his birth father, whom he hopes can provide him with answers regarding his peculiar physical traits. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found the book to be "an oddly moving and poignant tale, unfortunately marred by an amorphous beginning and a pace far too leisurely." On the other hand, a Publishers Weekly reviewer described the book as "mournful, quietly suspenseful and gently surreal," and, while noting that the pace might have been swifter at times, concluded that it "marks the arrival of a talented newcomer." New York Times Book Review contributor Kate Bolick felt that "the themes of identity, self-acceptance, belonging and love are made mawkish by too much vague, florid language," while Booklist critic Kevin Canfield called Roffey's debut "rich and layered and sophisticated in a way that not enough novels are."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2003, Kevin Canfield, review of August Frost, p. 851.

Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2002, review of August Frost, p. 1727.

New York Times Book Review, April 6, 2003, Kate Bolick, review of August Frost, p. 24.

Publishers Weekly, March 3, 2003, review of August Frost, p. 55.

ONLINE

Spannered.org,http://www.spannered.org/ (April 30, 2007), review of Sun Dog.