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Car mechanic Fiorimond is irresistibly drawn to beautiful, provocative Elle, a recent arrival in his sleepy Provence village. Their relationship develops quickly, but even as they make plans to marry, Fiorimond doesn't know what to make of his bride-to-be: is she an enigma or simply vacuous? In fact the troubled Elle is on a mission to exact revenge on Fiorimond's family for a crime committed decades earlier, with a plan that will ultimately destroy all their lives, including hers. Set in the 1970s, and available in English again for the first time in many years, this is a true classic of French suspense. It has everything: stylish writing, clever construction, an unforgettable leading lady, and most importantly leaves the reader guessing until the very last page. In the 1980s it was turned into a successful film with Isabelle Adjani.
About the author
Sébastien Japrisot was born in Marseille, France in 1931. He published his first novel,
Les Mal Partis, when he was just 17. Japrisot translated the works of J. D. Salinger and pursued a successful career in advertising and publicity. He was a scriptwriter and the director of two films. His first crime novel,
The Sleeping Car Murders, was received with great acclaim. His reputation as a master for crime fiction grew with the publication of
The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun,
A Trap for Cinderella and
Rider on the Rain. His novel
One Deadly Summer was made into a film starring Isabelle Adjani.
A Very Long Engagement was an international bestseller and won the Prix Interallie. He died in 2003.
Alan Sheridan is the author of
Andrée Gide: A Life in the Present. He has translated works by Sartre, Lacan, Foucault, and Jean Lacouture.
Summary
From a master of suspense comes this classic tale of lust and revenge set in the French countryside.
Foreword
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‘Japrisot is the most welcome talent since the early Simenons’ New York Times
Praise for A Very Long Engagement
‘A classic of its kind, brewing up enormous pathos undiluted by sentimentality’ Daily Telegraph
‘Diabolically clever ... The reader is alternately impressed, beguiled, frightened, bewildered ... A considerable achievement’ Anita Brookner
‘The narrative is brilliantly complex and beguiling, and the climax devastating’ The Independent
‘Riveting ... A fierce, elliptical novel that’s both a gripping philosophical thriller and a highly moving meditation on the emotional consequences of war’ New York Times
‘A kind of latter-day War and Peace ... a rich and most original panorama’ Los Angeles Book Review
‘Precisely, surprisingly evocative of the lingering pain of mourning and the burdens of survival’ Kirkus Reviews
Praise for One Deadly Summer
‘A gripping tale of hatred, revenge, and lust … A sinister spellbinder’ Publishers Weekly
'Japrisot's talent lies for one part in the clever construction of his novels ... it also lies in the writing that is simple, rhythmical, surprising, phonetic and lyrical' Le Point
‘Japrisot holds a unique place in contemporary fiction. With the quality and originality of his writing, he has hugely contributed to breaking down the barrier between crime fiction and literary fiction' Le Monde
‘Unreeled with the taut, confident shaping of a grand master ... Funny, awful, first-rate. A rich and resonant sonata in black, astutely suspended between mythic tragedy and the grubby pathos of nagging everyday life' Kirkus Reviews
‘A marvellous storyteller’ Télérama
