The Violins of Saint-Jacques

Fiction & Literature, Cultural Heritage, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book The Violins of Saint-Jacques by Patrick Leigh Fermor, New York Review Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Patrick Leigh Fermor ISBN: 9781590177952
Publisher: New York Review Books Publication: July 11, 2017
Imprint: NYRB Classics Language: English
Author: Patrick Leigh Fermor
ISBN: 9781590177952
Publisher: New York Review Books
Publication: July 11, 2017
Imprint: NYRB Classics
Language: English

"Mr. Fermor's elegant rococo fantasy about a volcanic eruption on an imaginary Caribbean island is just close enough to reality to raise a genuine shiver--possibly even a genuine tear. In truth, it is a small timeless masterpiece."--Phoebe Lou Adams, The Atlantic

Patrick Leigh Fermor’s only novel displays the same lustrous way with words as his beloved travel trilogy (A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, and The Broken Road), the memoir of his youthful walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. This slim book starts with the
meeting of an English traveler and an enigmatic elderly Frenchwoman on an Aegean island. He is captivated by her painting of a busy Caribbean port in the shadow of a volcano, which leads her to tell him the story of her childhood in that town back at the beginning of the twentieth century. The tale she unfolds, set in the tropical luxury of the island of Saint-Jacques, is one of romantic intrigue and decadence involving the descendants of slaves and a fading French aristocracy. Then, on the night of the annual Mardi Gras ball, a whole world comes to a catastrophic and haunting end.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"Mr. Fermor's elegant rococo fantasy about a volcanic eruption on an imaginary Caribbean island is just close enough to reality to raise a genuine shiver--possibly even a genuine tear. In truth, it is a small timeless masterpiece."--Phoebe Lou Adams, The Atlantic

Patrick Leigh Fermor’s only novel displays the same lustrous way with words as his beloved travel trilogy (A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, and The Broken Road), the memoir of his youthful walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. This slim book starts with the
meeting of an English traveler and an enigmatic elderly Frenchwoman on an Aegean island. He is captivated by her painting of a busy Caribbean port in the shadow of a volcano, which leads her to tell him the story of her childhood in that town back at the beginning of the twentieth century. The tale she unfolds, set in the tropical luxury of the island of Saint-Jacques, is one of romantic intrigue and decadence involving the descendants of slaves and a fading French aristocracy. Then, on the night of the annual Mardi Gras ball, a whole world comes to a catastrophic and haunting end.

More books from New York Review Books

Cover of the book The Unpossessed by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Mentored by a Madman: The William Burroughs Experiment by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Rogue Male by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Confusion by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Dear Illusion by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Essayism by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book The Tenants of Time by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book What's for Dinner? by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book A Chill in the Air by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book The Traveller's Tree by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Liu Xiaobo's Empty Chair by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Varieties of Exile by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Shakespeare's Montaigne by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Cover of the book Patrick Leigh Fermor: A Life in Letters by Patrick Leigh Fermor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy