XerxesA rich and unsettling novel about storytelling, evil and fakery. On the heels of Jonathan Buckley's marvellously assured debut -- 'multilayered and captivating, ' Daily Telegraph; 'A spontaneous and searching picture of a life, ' IoS -- comes his dazzling second novel. Set in Germany in the 1820s, Ettlinger, a young scholar who has been commissioned to design and build a chapel, finds himself increasingly swept up in a circle of friends who regularly meet to joust and outwit each other with stories. At the same time he receives from Wolgast, a local collector of antiques, an invitation to use his library to assist him in his research. But over the coming weeks, Wolgast's hand of friendship seems increasingly sinister and poisonous, his house more an anteroom in Hell. Threaded with the story of the kingdom of Xerxes, a cautionary tale about a paradise lost, Xerxes is a tense and frightening read, a brilliant examination of manipulative men and the shadow they cas |
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Page 103
... Saint Sebastian . His pliant and hairless young body is bequilled with more than the customary allocation of arrows . It is a colourful some would say too colourful - work , executed with pigments as bright as children's eyes . It is ...
... Saint Sebastian . His pliant and hairless young body is bequilled with more than the customary allocation of arrows . It is a colourful some would say too colourful - work , executed with pigments as bright as children's eyes . It is ...
Page 104
... Saint Sebastian becomes a mere ancillary to the auction . The sale has become a joust 104.
... Saint Sebastian becomes a mere ancillary to the auction . The sale has become a joust 104.
Page 105
... Saint Sebastian as though imploring an image of his monarch for guidance . Heroically , with no thought of the consequence , he summons the resources to deliver the coup de grâce de grâce - an additional two guineas . Aghast , Contarini ...
... Saint Sebastian as though imploring an image of his monarch for guidance . Heroically , with no thought of the consequence , he summons the resources to deliver the coup de grâce de grâce - an additional two guineas . Aghast , Contarini ...
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Common terms and phrases
Abbadon appeared asked attention August became become began beside body brother brought building chair church close continued covered Davringhausen dead door drawing emperor Ettlinger Ettlinger's eyes face father feet figure finger floor friends gaze glass hair hand head hear heard held Helene horses hour Johann Klostermann knew later leave light live Lizius looked Maximilian Meier memory mind mouth moved never night once painting passed perhaps picture piece playing pressed raised replied Residence rested returned rising seated seemed seen shadow shoulder side silence skin smile sound standing steps stone stood street talk things thought told took tree turned voice walked wall watched week window Wolgast woman young