The Unloved: A Novel - Softcover

Levy, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1620406772 ISBN 13: 9781620406779

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA, 2015

Synopsis

The image is instant. It whirs out of the camera and they all watch it develop in silence.
"Here." He gives the photograph to the perfect flawless woman without looking at it, by way of apology. When everyone gathers around Luciana to admire it, Gustav clicks again.
The unloved look brave.
The unloved look heavier than the loved. Their eyes are sadder but their thoughts are clearer. They are not concerned with pleasing or affirming their loved one's point of view.
The unloved look preoccupied.
The unloved look impatient.

A group of hedonistic tourists--from Algeria, England, Poland, Germany, Italy, France, and America--gathers to celebrate the holidays in a remote French chateau. Then a woman is brutally murdered, and the sad, eerie child Tatiana declares she knows who did it. The subsequent inquiry into the death, however, proves to be more of an investigation into the nature of identity, love, insatiable rage, and sadistic desire. The Unloved offers a bold and revealing look at some of the events that shaped European and African history, and the perils of a future founded on concealed truth.

About this title

About the Author

Deborah Levy writes fiction, plays, and poetry. Her work has been staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company and widely broadcast on the BBC, including her dramatizations of two of Freud's most iconic case studies, Dora and The Wolfman. The author of highly praised novels including Swimming Home, Beautiful Mutants, Swallowing Geography, and Billy and Girl, the story collection Black Vodka, and the essay Things I Don't Want to Know, she lives in London, England.

Review

“Brave and brilliant.” ―The Independent (UK)

“A startling work . . . Levy's world is horrifyingly violent, but she describes this dead European culture with a compelling, cool precision, always paring her language, never judging.” ―The Times (UK)

“Impressively ambitious . . . . Unusual and memorable.” ―Times Literary Supplement

“Conjure[s] fractured and fluid worlds that are wholly immersive.” ―The Guardian

“Deborah Levy is remarkably prolific. She's written radio plays, a Booker-nominated novel, and a page-turning yet poetic short story collection. Her last novel, Swimming Home, shared a family's odd exploits while on summer vacation -- similarly, The Unloved features a cast of tourists celebrating the holidays together in a chateau.” ―Huffington Post, 2015 Books We Can't Wait to Read

“A dark, uncomfortable story of desire and damage . . . Levy's approach is cerebral and unsentimental, exploring, in prose both sensuous and supple, the sadness and perplexity of children, the unsatisfied desires of adults, and, above all, the power and role of love. Graphic, claustrophobic and fractured, this is emotionally violent and challenging work from a bold modern writer.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Cerebral . . . Levy brings a poetic and slightly surreal voice . . . The Unloved is a challenging and deeply literary read.” ―New York Journal of Books

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1620406772
• ISBN 13: 9781620406779
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208