Author:Mathilde Madden
When Sophie Taylor finds herself outlining her ultimate fantasy - to pay a man for sex - at her drunken 31st birthday party, all her friends seem to get the wrong end of the stick. Because suddenly everyone seems to be trying to make Sophie's dreams come true, from her on-off boyfriend Rex to the mysterious Mark Valentine. Everyone, that is, except Sophie herself.
Will Sophie put her money where her mouth wants it to be? Or are some things best kept in the realm of fantasy?
Mathilde Madden has the knack of creating believable characters and giving them interesting sexual dilemmas to cope with
—— FRMHere is Ruth Rendell on such fantastic form that you'll want to stay up all night racing through to the end.
—— Val Hennessy , Daily MailA powerful and absorbing narrative told with elegance and subtlety
—— Daily TelegraphRuth Rendell is surely one of the greatest novelists presently at work in our language. The extraordinary depth and accuracy of her psychological portraits is matched only by the rare inventiveness of her storytelling
—— Scott TurowPsychologically acute and extremely disturbing, Ruth Rendell’s work is outstanding
—— The TimesA piercing satire of Communism and the language of revolutions
—— Ángel Gurría-Quitana , Financial Times, *Books of the Year*Yan probes the darkness and absurdity of Chinese society and history with a sexy satirical tale of the Cultural Revolution as wrought in a small village . . . distinctive and punchy. Yan's exuberant and unflinching tragicomedy is undeniably appealing
—— Publishers WeeklySurreal and amusing, biting and fun
—— Caroline Overington , The AustralianA gritty, memorable story . . . Yan's study of power and class struggle becomes, in the end, a near-classic tragedy
—— Kirkus ReviewYan's signature biting wit creates another indelible work of bittersweet humor and socio-political insight
—— BooklistPredicted to become a new future classic . . . this is a powerful, multi-faceted book that questions everything from marriage to sexual desire, power and the dangers of hubris
—— Clara Strunck , BuroGao Aijun, the narrator of this boisterous novel, set during the Cultural Revolution, finds his life charmless: his village is like "a pool of stagnant water," and his wife makes him feel "a clump of cotton" in his throat. Then he meets a beautiful woman, also married, and, to attract her, sets out to lead the "revolution" in their village. In speech larded with Mao quotes and traditional maxims, Gao reveals how their romance, fuelled by the feverish political climate, pitches the village into ever-escalating extremism -- a years-long parade of self-advancing schemes culminating in an unthinkable end
—— New Yorker