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 40
... Vitruvius at exactly the same angle ; the casket of pounce still occupied the wedge of space between the untouched ream and the treatise of Leon Battista Alberti . But things had been added to the tables ' array . A block of wove paper ...
... Vitruvius at exactly the same angle ; the casket of pounce still occupied the wedge of space between the untouched ream and the treatise of Leon Battista Alberti . But things had been added to the tables ' array . A block of wove paper ...
Page 41
... Vitruvius , editions of Palladio in various languages , and a plenitude of obscure Italians . The adjacent case contained priceless editions of all the great French treatises , from Philibert de l'Orme's Architecture to Laugier's Essai ...
... Vitruvius , editions of Palladio in various languages , and a plenitude of obscure Italians . The adjacent case contained priceless editions of all the great French treatises , from Philibert de l'Orme's Architecture to Laugier's Essai ...
Page 204
... doubt that the persistence of his fame is of much consolation to the remains of Vitruvius . ' A breeze brought with it a perfume of roses . Wolgast breathed it in noisily , and his eyelids flickered like those of a man inebriated . 204.
... doubt that the persistence of his fame is of much consolation to the remains of Vitruvius . ' A breeze brought with it a perfume of roses . Wolgast breathed it in noisily , and his eyelids flickered like those of a man inebriated . 204.
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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