Cedilla continues the history of John Cromer begun by Pilcrow,
described by the London Review of Books as "peculiar, original,
utterly idiosyncratic" and by the Sunday Times as "truly
exhilarating". These huge and sparkling books are particularly
surprising coming from a writer of previously (let's be tactful)
modest productivity, who had seemed stubbornly attached to small
forms. Now the alleged miniaturist has rumbled into the literary
traffic in his monster truck, and seems determined to overtake
Proust's cork-lined limousine while it's stopped at the lights.
John Cromer is the weakest hero in literature -- unless he's one of
the strongest. In Cedilla he launches himself into the wider world of
mainstream education, and comes upon deeper joys, subtler setbacks.
The tone and texture of the two books is similar, but their emotional
worlds are very different. The slow unfolding of themes is perhaps
closer to Indian classical music than the Western tradition --
raga/saga, anyone?
This isn't an epic novel as such things are normally understood, to be
sure. It contains no physical battles and the bare minimum of travel,
yet surely it qualifies. None of the reviews of Pilcrow explicitly
compared it to a coral reef made of a billion tiny Crunchie bars, but
that was the drift of opinion. Page by page, Cedilla too provides
unfailing pleasure. It's the book you can read between meals without
ruining your appetite.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780571272297
Publisert
2017
Utgiver
Vendor
Faber & Faber
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter