Author:Joris-Karl Huysmans,Patrick McGuinness,Patrick McGuinness,Patrick McGuinness
The hero of this curious novel is des Esseintes, a neurasthenic aristocrat who has turned his back on the vulgarity of modern life and retreated to an isolated country villa. Here, accompanied only by a couple of silent servants, he pursues his obsessions with exotic flowers, rare gems, and complex perfumes and embarks on a series of increasingly strange aesthetic experiments, starting with the decision to give his giant pet tortoise a jewel-encrusted shell...
Sometimes you find a book which you just can't stop reading... With this novel, Tamaro confirms her role as one of Italy's most loved writers...this book is eloquent in its simplicity, at once enjoyable and heartbreaking
—— What's OnAnswer Me demands engagement...entertainingly grotesque
—— Times Literary SupplementIt's easy to see why Tamaro's bleakly atmospheric tales of life by the auto-strada, and her portentous pronouncements on love, life and Catholicism became such a runaway bestseller
—— IndependentJanice Galloway's exciting, vibrant third novel proves a virtuoso piece of storytelling...this obvious Booker contender is as compelling as the tormented players and music that inspired it
—— Eileen Battersby , Irish TimesYou read Clara and you catch the music of another mind, and wherever it comes from Janice Galloway plays the notes to what sounds very much like perfection. This is a virtuoso performance
—— ScotsmanA novel dizzy with lyrical passages and pulsating with the musical passion of Clara's complicated, tragic love for her husband Robert Schumann
—— Scotland on SundayHer limpid prose style is so seductive and so beautiful a fine meditation on art, love and loss...
—— Meaghan Delahunt, The Scotsman