Shipwreck af Louis Begley (Bog)

Forfatter: Louis Begley
Sprog: Engelsk
Antal sider: 276
Forlag: Ballantine Books
Udgivelsesår: 2004
A mesmerizing novel of deception and betrayal from the acclaimed author of Wartime Lies and About Schmidt. John North, a prize-winning American writer, is suddenly beset by dark suspicions about the real value of his work. Over endless hours and bottles of whiskey consumed in a mysterious café called L’Entre Deux Mondes, he recounts, in counterpoint to his doubts, the one story he has never told before, perhaps the only important one he will ever tell. North’s chosen interlocutor–who could be his doppelgänger–is transfixed by the revelations and becomes the narrator of North’s tale. North has always been faithful to his wife, Lydia, but when one of his novels achieves a special success, he allows himself a dalliance with Léa, a starstruck young journalist. Coolly planning to make sure that his life with Lydia will not be disturbed, North is taken off guard when Léa becomes obsessed with him and he with her elaborate erotic games. As the hypnotic and serpentine confession unfurls, we gradually discover the extraordinary lengths to which North has gone to indulge a powerful desire for self-destruction. Shipwreck is a daring parable of the contradictory impulses that can rend a single soul–narcissism and self-loathing, refinement and lust.
Titel: Shipwreck

Sammendrag: Romanen følger forfatteren John North, som i en række samtaler på caféen L’Entre Deux Mondes fortæller en ukendt tilhører den historie, han aldrig før har fortalt. North har et stabilt ægteskab med Lydia, men efter en litterær succes bliver han involveret med den unge journalist Léa. Forholdet udvikler sig til et intenst, erotisk spil, som North tror, han kan styre, men som gradvis undergraver hans selvbillede og vilje til at leve ordentligt. Bekendelsen afslører et menneske fanget mellem kunstnerisk ambition, skyld og destruktivt begær. Gennem tilhørerens blik bliver Norths fortælling både selvportræt og spejl for læseren, hvor temaer som utroskab, skam, narcissisme og identitet står centralt.
Type: Paperback