You Deserve Nothing - Softcover

Maksik, Alexander

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848545711 ISBN 13: 9781848545717

Publisher: John Murray, 2011

Synopsis

Set in an international high school in Paris, YOU DESERVE NOTHING is told in three voices: that of Will, a charismatic young teacher who brings ideas alive in the classroom in a way that profoundly affects his students; Gilad, one of Will's students who has grown up behind compound walls in places like Dakar and Dubai, and for whom Paris and Will's senior seminar are the first heady tastes of freedom; and Marie, the beautiful, vulnerable senior with whom, unbeknowst to Gilad, Will is having an illicit affair.

Utterly compelling, brilliantly written, YOU DESERVE NOTHING is a captivating tale about teachers and students, of moral uncertainties and the coming of adulthood. It heralds the arrival of a brilliant new voice in fiction.

About this title

Review

'One of the most engaged reads I've had in years. YOU DESERVE NOTHING is that rare and fearless debut novel that feels like anything but.' (Alice Sebold, author of THE LOVELY BONES)

'Alexander Maksik's YOU DESERVE NOTHING is a bracing, challenging, enthralling debut. It is a novel that rings true from first page to last, refusing the false notion of easy choices, inhabiting, rather, the moral maze of lived life. Here is a gifted writer who understands why the artful telling of a difficult story is a brave and important thing to do. Read this book.' (John Burnham Schwartz author of THE COMMONER and RESERVATION ROAD)

'A provocative, constantly surprising, and original novel written with precision and grace. Maksik is unflinching in his exploration of the sexual awakening of the young, and the moral complexity of adulthood. This is a thrilling debut.' (Susanna Moore, author of IN THE CUT)

'The best stories are by nature confrontational, implicitly asking readers to assess their own lives and assumptions, asking readers not only what they might do in difficult situations but more so what they are doing daily and what it all means. By this yardstick, Alexander Maksik's first novel, You Deserve Nothing, is a thoroughly engaging, passionate, and challenging read that finely walks the line between morality and amorality. In a society, and at a time, when individual identity is so closely tied to collective narcissism, Maksik's novel asks what are the true sources of self-worth? And how shall we live?' (Tom Jenks, editor, Narrative magazine)

Alexander Maksik deftly evokes the beauty and pathos of Paris. The story of Will, Gilad and Marie, each compelled towards his or her own moral and sexual awakening, is at once dark and luminous. This is a book to be read all at once with a glass of wine in a cafe or a cup of tea while tucked safely in bed (A.M. Homes)

YOU DESERVE NOTHING is a powerful, absorbing novel and Alexander Maksik is an unusually gifted writer (Tom Perrotta Author of Little Children, Election and The Leftovers)

Book Description

Dark, compelling story of an illicit affair between a young teacher and his female student for fans of Donna Tartt

About this edition

• Publisher: John Murray
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1848545711
• ISBN 13: 9781848545717
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320