He's called 'the monster of the Bastille'. He's brutally murdered 27 elderly women in one area of Paris. Chief Inspector Morvan is in charge of the investigation into this macabre and sinister case: every victim seems to have invited the killer into her home, to have enjoyed a meal, even celebrated, before her death. And each time the killer has meticulously bathed himself, leaving the scene of the crime without a single fingerprint.
In Argentina meanwhile, an untitled manuscript by an unnamed author is discovered amongst the papers of a missing poet, known for his hatred of the novel.
The investigation seeks to unravel two cases - one criminal, one literary. Part police investigation, part historical account and part novel, it shows Saer at his virtuoso best, orchestrating the different layers effortlessly. Hitchcockian, blending suspense with superb descriptions of everyday life, this is both a crime novel and a journey into the psyche of horror.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Born in Santa Fé, Argentina in 1937, Juan José Saer is the leading Argentinian writer of the post-Borges generation. In 1968, he moved to Paris and taught literature at the university in Rennes, Brittany. In 1998, Saer was awarded Spain's prestigious Nadal Prize. His work is translated into all major languages. He died in 2005.
Review:
?A fascinatingly bleak, artfully self-conscious thriller? The Times ?Saer is a past master at literary games? Independent on Sunday ?A very readable, brilliantly sustained literary tease whose creepiness and millenial angst stay with one long after the last page is finished? The Crack
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSerpent's Tail
- Publication date1999
- ISBN 10 1852422971
- ISBN 13 9781852422974
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages182
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Rating