Description
Book SynopsisGarréta’s first novel in a decade follows the mania that descends upon a family when the father finds himself in possession of a concrete mixer. As he seeks to modernize every aspect of their lives, disaster strikes when the younger sister is subsumed by concrete. Through puns, wordplay, and dizzying verbal effect, Garréta reinvents the novel form and blurs the line between spoken and written language in an attempt to confront the elasticity of communication.
Trade ReviewRecipient of the 2020 Hemingway Grant by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy "Oulipo member Garréta’s wonderfully strange latest (after Not One Day) chronicles the misfortunes that befall a family after the father receives a concrete mixer for his birthday... Ramadan, winner of the PEN Translation Prize, makes each of the pages sing. Fans of experimental fiction will find this delightful." –Publishers Weekly "Through a unique writing style where spelling mistakes coexist with onomatopoeias and saucy allusions, the border between spoken and written language gradually ceases to exist." —The Cultural Services of the French Embassy Praise for SphinxOne of Flavorwire’s Top 50 Independent Books of 2015 One of Entropy Magazine‘s Best Fiction Books of 2015 One of Bookriot‘s 100 Must-Read Books Translated From French One of FSG editor Jackson Howard’s favorite books of 2018 on FSG's blog Work in Progress “The set-up is such a classic, relatable tale of falling in — and out — of love that one wonders why gender has always been such a huge factor in how we discuss relationships, in fiction and otherwise. . . . So, the author, and the translator, created their own language, championing love and desire over power and difference.” — Maddie Crum, Huffington Post “Garréta’s aim was to overthrow gender binaries carried by language, and in light of recent demands by transgender groups to use gender neutral pronouns, Sphinx seems curiously prescient.” — Catherine Humble, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) “…Sphinx highlights the already limiting nature of language when it comes to matters of gender, and of love.” — Stephanie Hayes, The Atlantic “The strength of [Sphinx] lies in its philosophical eloquence . . . Take away gender and race from the book, and what’s left? Love, viewed as a nihilistic transcendence . . . considerably more than a language game.” — Adam Mars-Jones, London Review of Books
