Villa des Roses - Softcover

Elsschot, Willem

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1862076162 ISBN 13: 9781862076167

Publisher: Granta Books, 2012

Synopsis

The gilt-lettered advertisement outside Madame Brulot's pension in the shabby rue d'Armaille promises a 'first-class family boarding house' and 'modern conveniences'. One thing is certain: few emerge from their stay at the Villa des Roses unscathed. The seduction of the new maid Louise, the tragic suicide of Monsieur Brizard, the champagne birthday party for Madame Dumoulin, the antics of Chico the monkey - these are just some of the incidents and characters that cause a sensation in the bittersweet and blackly comic world of the Villa des Roses.

About this title

Review:

'Elsschot is full of subtle feeling and his style is highly economical and lucid...a sophisticated, parodic, tender realist of genius' -- Martin Seymour-Smith

'Packed with bizarre incidents and even more bizarre characters...black, certainly, but brilliantly comic as well. A rough-cut gem’ -- Ham and High

About the Author:

Willem Elsschot (1882 - 1960) was the pseudonym of Alfons de Ridder, head of a successful advertising agency who, unbeknownst to his family, was a hugely successful novelist in his spare time. Cheese, his breakthrough novel, was first published in Dutch in 1933 and is also published by Granta. Paul Vincent taught Dutch language and literature for many years at London University before becoming a full-time translator in 1989. He has translated various Dutch prose writers, including Harry Mulisch, Margriet de Moor, J. Bernlef and H. M. van den Brink.

About this edition

• Publisher: Granta Books
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1862076162
• ISBN 13: 9781862076167
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 162