Description

An extraordinary work of fiction, from one of the world’s most exceptional writers.

A journalist visits an elderly painter and becomes intrigued by his young female companions. Four years’ worth of book research is set on fire in front of a writer. A successful MP disappears without a trace.

Written with stylistic innovation, this sequence of novellas exploring the nature of art echoes the themes and preoccupations of Fowles’ earlier work and cements his position as a master storyteller.

‘Pick up any of these stories and you won’t, as they say, be able to put it down’ Financial Times

Publisher Review

Pick up any of these stories and you won't, as they say, be able to put it down * Financial Times * Arresting...this collection impresses me as deeply as any of the novels which Fowles has published to date * Guardian * In a manner worthy of Pirandello, John Fowles uses the conventional apparatus of the detective-story to explore the relationship between fact and fiction, reality and illusion, to masterly effect * Sunday Telegraph * This collection of five novellas confirms that in terms of technical resourcefulness and narrative skill he has few equals among the living novelists. The novella which gives the book its title strikes me as being the finest thing Fowles has written * Observer * This is an immensely stimulating book, rich in imagery, sure in dialogue, profound in characterization, dazzling in its descriptive powers and constantly haunting with its Celtic rhythms and its bold, elegant design * The Times *