Description

A gorgeous, tender modern classic about the complexities of love, with an introduction from the Booker-winning author John Banville

Stefan Valeriu, a young Romanian student, holidays alone in the Alps, where he soon becomes entangled in romantic relationships with three different women who pass through his guesthouse. We follow Stefan after his return to Paris as he reflects on the women in his life, at times playing the lover, and at others observing shrewdly from the periphery.

Women’s four interlinked stories offer nuanced and deeply moving portraits of romantic relationships in all their complexity, from unrequited love and passionate affairs to tepid marriages of convenience. In light, elegant prose, Mihail Sebastian, widely regarded as the greatest Romanian writer of the 20th century, explores longing, otherness, empathy, and regret.

‘His prose is like something Chekov might have written – the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation’ Arthur Miller

‘I love Sebastian’s courage, his lightness, and his wit’ John Banville

‘Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors’ New Statesman

‘A minor masterpiece of voice, mood and emotion’ Irish Times

Publisher Review

Sebastian died a victim of an automobile accident in 1946, having survived the Second World War and the Holocaust. That fatal moment robbed the literary world of a unique voice * New York Journal of Books * If there is any justice [Sebastian's] posthumous profile will increase * Herald Scotland * Sebastian's observations of the complex physical and emotional details of romantic intrigue are perceptive and affectionate....these concise stories...showcase Sebastian's brilliant eye for emotional detail * Publishers Weekly * His prose is like something Chekhov might have written - the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation -- Arthur Miller Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years. -- Philippe Sands * Guardian Books of the Year 2016 * A compelling portrait of desire * Kirkus * Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors * New Statesman * I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit -- John Banville