''Owls Do Cry'' is a modernist novel by New Zealand author

Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She was internationally renowned for her work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awar ...

. Published in 1957, the book covers the story of the Withers siblings, who lives in a seaside town in South Island, New Zealand through a period of 20 years. The book extensively covers Daphne Withers' journey, including undergoing

lobotomy A lobotomy, or leucotomy, is a form of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy) that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The surgery causes most of the connections t ...

. ''Owls Do Cry'' is the first novel written by Frame and its content is loosely based on Frame's life, particularly her experience of spending eight years in and out of mental asylums, greatly influenced the content of the novel.

References

1957 novels 1957 debut novels Novels by Janet Frame Modernist novels {{1950s-novel-stub