The Past - Softcover

Pauls, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099481278 ISBN 13: 9780099481270

Publisher: Vintage, 2008

Synopsis

'A novel that is brilliant enough to raise itself effortlessly above and beyond the level of the vices it portrays: strange art and reckless passion, cocaine, excessive exercise and other forms of addiction' - Fabienne Dum, Le Monde

Rímini splits up with his girlfriend of twelve years, Sofía. The parting is initially amicable and he moves on, carefree, with a new zest for life. Hungry to make up for lost time and keen to forget the past, he finds a younger girlfriend and starts using cocaine.

Sofía, however, finds herself unable to let go, and continues to reappear on Rímini's horizon. Though the apparently idyllic relationship is over, their love has not died, merely taken on a different form. As time passes and their paths continue to cross, the past festers and torments them, like an infection.

About this title

Review:

"It soars in terms of style... Alan Pauls' finest work so far, displaying a rare intelligence... a momentous novel" (Times Literary Supplement)

"Almost 18th-century in its philosophical meandering, and emotionally and rationally, deeply satisfying" (Independent)

"A dazzling sexual odyssey... Alan Pauls is destined to be more widely celebrated" (Glasgow Herald)

"Beautifully written, bold and powerful" (Time Out)

" A novel that is brilliant enough to raise itself effortlessly above and beyond the level of the vices it portrays: strange art and reckless passion, cocaine, excessive exercise and other forms of addiction" (Le Monde)

Book Description:

A stunning tale of love gone bad: passion, obsession, sex and cocaine, all in excess... Riveting from start to finish.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0099481278
• ISBN 13: 9780099481270
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480