Description
Book SynopsisWhen his fireworks factory job ends explosively and his wife returns to work, Jose is surprised to realise he has a talent for keeping house: childcare, tidying, cleaning, cooking, gardening, he excels at it all. On Thursdays, he hangs out and drinks good wine with his jazz-loving neighbour. But when Jose's new talents take a sudden and gruesome turn, life, death, resurrection, and domesticity unexpectedly converge. In one single, hypnotic paragraph, Petite Fleur harnesses the unpredictability of Aira and the mysticism of Tolstoy in a discordant riff on suburban life.
Trade ReviewPraise for Petite Fleur: 'As vertiginous, airtight and intense as a dream.' Yuri Herrera ---------- 'You'll read Petite Fleur in a single sitting, carried along by the lively rhythm and a wacky plot leavened by a blend of darkness and cruelty. We don't often come across this kind of novel, a drama played for laughs.' Le Figaro ---------- 'An absolute masterpiece.' Marie Claire (France) Praise for Iosi Havilio: 'Iosi Havilio's remarkable first novel brings news of an intriguing world' Martin Schifino, The Independent ---------- 'An ambiguous tale that verges on dark comedy ... With skill and subtlety, the novel hints that a whole society might labour under an illusion of liberty.' The Economist ---------- 'A haunting tale set in the aftermath of an apocalypse ... Iosi Havilio has caused a literary storm in Argentina' Amanda Hopkinson, The Independent ---------- 'Look out for the much-praised Iosi Havilio.' Boyd Tonkin, The Independent ---------- 'Deliberately unshowy, so that plot twists can unfold in the quietest ways.' Fatema Ahmed, Prospect ---------- 'With minimalist beauty and exquisite strangeness, Iosi Havilio offers a mesmerising addition to the literature of solitude.' Chloe Aridjis ---------- 'Havilio's passion lies with the powerless. An inexhaustible stream of eccentric, believable characters, the down-and-out, downtrodden marginal citizens of Buenos Aires, parades through his fiction.' Nick DiMartino, Shelf Awareness ---------- 'This surreal novel is both dense enough and short enough to warrant re-readings and will especially appeal to fans of the TV series Twin Peaks.' Publishers Weekly
