Description
Book SynopsisThe sensational UK debut of a major French writer. Written with the elegance of old French fables, the dark sensuality of Djuna Barnes and the subtle comedy of Robert Walser, this warped, erotic fairy tale of a novella introduces UK readers to the marvellous Anne Serre.
Trade Review'A sensualist, surrealist romp.'- Kirkus Reviews.`Brutal and effervescent, The Governesses is a systems novel, in the guise of a postmodern fairy tale, a twisted take on the battle of the sexes, a Dionysian mystery in sheep's clothing. This haunting and compulsive read, imbued with an uncanny intensity, in an unforgettable introduction to Anne Serre's work.'- Alexandra Kleeman. `The story, classical in appearance, soon jolts us out of our sleepy ways.' - Le Monde. '`A cruel and exhilarating book. Anne Serre's style is perfectly controlled. Colorful, by turns elegant and violent, it provokes that enchantment borne out of an unbridled imagination.' (Marie-Claire) 'Every so often a different creature darts into view: a novel that is genuinely original - and, often, very quietly so. Call it the anglerfish of literature, after those solitary, crazy-looking lurkers in the sea's deepest trenches. The strangeness of such stories isn't just at the level of construction; it emerges from the writer's very perception of the world and seeps into the syntax. Prim and racy, seriously weird and seriously excellent-The Governesses is not a treatise but an aria, and one delivered with perfect pitch.' (The New York Times). ``Ines, Laura and Eleonor are not exactly Jane Eyre types. This could be the set up for a neo-pagan farce, but as Serre delves into the three women's existence, the novel taps into deeper, quieter waters: the Keatsian twinning of joy and melancholy. Serre's wistful ode to pleasure is as enchanting as its three nymph-like protagonists.' - Publishers Weekly, starred review.
