Velda Venn, an unsophisticated yet powerfully sexual woman, gradually subverts a wealthy gallery owner's life when she is hired as his housekeeper
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Harris sets his tale against the decadent eccentricities of a wealthy California beach community. At the center is Harry, a handsome gallery owner, an epicurean lover of all things beautiful, a man who counted his late wife among his most valuable possessions. When he hires Velda Venn, an unsophisticated yet powerfully sexual housekeeper, the order of his exquisite household is gradually subverted. Like the pull of the ocean waves outside his window, Velda draws Harry from calm self-absorption to erotic obsession. He must possess her - and a spectacular painting that changes everything, a painting that seems the very mirror of his strange, uncontrollable desire.
Harris puts on a southern Californian magic show in this bravura l6th novel (Glad Rags, 1991, etc.) about an art-gallery owner who takes the gamble of his life. A year after the death of his wife Killian, Harry De Spain is still mooching around his house in the privileged oceanside sanctuary of Orange Bay, mourning her obsessively while unable to console his 13-year-old son Peter (who has a ``surrogate father'' in Henry Fang, their elderly, decadent Chinese-American neighbor). Harry needn't worry about his modestly successful gallery, bought (like the house) with Killian's money and managed expertly by his assistant Dorothy, but he does need a ``home manager'' (though not one who might tempt him to forget Killian). He settles on Velda Venn, a plain-faced welfare recipient who, like most women, is wild about Harry, considering him ``the most beautiful man in the world.'' In a dazzlingly executed transformation, Velda makes herself an object of desire by first stripping and then setting herself on fire with a bottle of Aquavit. Harry, shocked out of his Killian-brooding, is now hooked on Velda. Meanwhile, his enigmatic brother-in-law Golo tells him of an extraordinary painting, supposedly by the much-in-demand Rumanian Vlach, that's stored in a London warehouse. Cash down, no questions asked. To impress Velda with his dealer's manhood, Harry goes for it. Has he been set up? Will Velda stand by her man? The surprises and transformations keep on coming for the variously innocent and corrupt inhabitants of Orange Bay, mesmerized by the ocean and backlit by a sensibility hauntingly reminiscent of Iris Murdoch. A veteran novelist at the top of his form. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Shipping:
US$ 5.45
Within U.S.A.
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: USED_GOOD. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.15. Seller Inventory # G0671741950I3N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 39793797-75
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_VERYGOOD. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 39145616-6
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00047053641
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Rock Solid Books, Jenison, MI, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Included. First Edition. Fine book in a fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 1572
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: USED_GOOD. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 26-0671741950-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Thomas F. Pesce', Anaheim, CA, U.S.A.
Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. A first edition with the copyright page listing the full number sequence of 1-10. The Dust-Jacket's original price is still present. Pages are clean, tight and bright. Seller Inventory # 6022992
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Willis Monie-Books, ABAA, Cooperstown, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Seller Inventory # 87267
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: UHR Books, Hollis Center, ME, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Printing. Review copy with original publisher's information inserted; a nice copy with light normal wear. A novel from the author of "Hemingway's Suitcase". 315 pages. Book. Seller Inventory # 053289
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: 2nd Act Books, Charlottesville, VA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: UNSPECIFIED. Seller Inventory # 25526
Quantity: 1 available