Items related to The Contract
Synopsis
After agreeing to pay Madame Vallette fourteen thousand francs annually for the rest of her life in exchange for the title to her spacious Paris apartment after her death, Monsieur Baudoin obsessively monitors the activities of his elderly neighbor
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From Publishers Weekly
Nothing much happens in this slim first novel but it has, despite flaws, a cockeyed charm. Middle-aged Paris salesman Rene Baudoin invests a legacy in a viagere, the peculiarly French device that pays a property owner a life annuity in exchange for which the property passes to the buyer upon the seller's death. The seller, Mme. Vallette, is 70, but Baudoin quickly becomes impatient. He begins spying on her large apartment just across the street. The spying soon becomes more important to Baudoin than the waiting, eventually an obsession. He adopts ever-changing disguises, living the different roles he invents for himself. When Mme. Vallette drastically changes her daily routine, becoming a recluse except for late night visits to a seedy hotel, Baudoin turns detective. A death and crimes ensue, but not what you'd expect. Baudoin's sudden impatience to be rid of Mme. Vallette isn't properly explained and there are occasional arch moments, but stage and movie designer Rhoads has crafted a nicely elliptical, cinematic tale with some good-humored wit.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHenry Holt & Co
- Publication date1986
- ISBN 10 0030080827
- ISBN 13 9780030080821
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages108
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The Contract
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Henry Holt & Company, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1986
ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
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THE CONTRACT
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ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First American Edition. This truly Gallic Novel of deception is itself a brilliant deception ( back cover) Book in Mylar cover. No remainder marks, no ink markings. Not price clipped either. First American Edition, First printing. Book. Seller Inventory # 002432
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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