The Honeymoon - Softcover

Haythe, Justin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802141838 ISBN 13: 9780802141835

Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005

Synopsis

Justin's Haythe's remarkably assured debut, The Honeymoon, has been compared to the work of Ford Madox Ford and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in London and Venice at the end of the twentieth century, The Honeymoon follows a young man as he looks back on a series of events that have caused his life to unravel. Traveling through the capitals of Europe with his eccentric mother Maureen, American born Gordon Garraty has led a life of barren privilege. Only after marrying Annie, several years his senior and the daughter of a North London cab driver, does Gordon begin to emerge from the sphere of his mother's influence. Accompanied by Maureen and her Swiss fiancé, Annie and Gordon finally take a long-delayed honeymoon in Venice but find that the brilliance of the city seems to distort rather than illuminate. The story gathers a palpable intensity before a single act of absurd but devastating violence pricks their happy bubble and lays bare the emptiness at the core of their gilded lives. A deeply observant and beautifully crafted tale, gently funny and tender in equal parts, The Honeymoon marks the debut of a compelling new writer.

About this title

Book Description

The first time that Gordon meets Annie they make love in a park. Soon afterwards, on the 44th anniversary of D-Day, they are married. Gordon, though American-born, has never had a home; instead, he led a life of barren privilege, travelling through the capitals of Europe with his mother. Over the course of a year in London, Gordon and Annie construct an idea of married life for themselves, until their long-delayed honeymoon finally takes them to Venice. But once there, the city's brilliance seems to distort rather than illuminate, and the story gathers an almost unbearable intensity before -- in a single act of absurd but devastating vilolence -- their bubble is pricked and the emptiness at the core of their gilded lives revealed.

About the Author

Justin Haythe was born in London in 1973. This is his first novel. He now lives in New York City.

Edition details

• Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802141838
• ISBN 13: 9780802141835
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272