The Governesses by Anne Serre
In a large country house, shut off from the world within a gated garden, three young women responsible for the education of a group of little boys are hanging paper lanterns for a party. Their desires, however, lie elsewhere... Meet The Governesses: wild or drifting about in a melancholy calm, spied upon by Monsieur Austeur, fascinated by the ever more mysterious unfolding of events, like the charms and spells of a midsummer night's dream...
'A sensualist, surrealist romp'- Kirkus Reviews.`Brutal and effervescent, The Governesses is a systems novel, in the guise of a postmodern fairy tale, a twisted take on the battle of the sexes, a Dionysian mystery in sheep's clothing. This haunting and compulsive read, imbued with an uncanny intensity, in an unforgettable introduction to Anne Serre's work.'- Alexandra Kleeman. `The story, classical in appearance, soon jolts us out of our sleepy ways.' - Le Monde. '`A cruel and exhilarating book. Anne Serre's style is perfectly controlled. Colorful, by turns elegant and violent, it provokes that enchantment borne out of an unbridled imagination.' (Marie-Claire) 'Every so often a different creature darts into view: a novel that is genuinely original - and, often, very quietly so. Call it the anglerfish of literature, after those solitary, crazy-looking lurkers in the sea's deepest trenches. The strangeness of such stories isn't just at the level of construction; it emerges from the writer's very perception of the world and seeps into the syntax. Prim and racy, seriously weird and seriously excellent-The Governesses is not a treatise but an aria, and one delivered with perfect pitch.' (The New York Times). ``Ines, Laura and Eleonor are not exactly Jane Eyre types. This could be the set up for a neo-pagan farce, but as Serre delves into the three women's existence, the novel taps into deeper, quieter waters: the Keatsian twinning of joy and melancholy. Serre's wistful ode to pleasure is as enchanting as its three nymph-like protagonists.' - Publishers Weekly, starred review.
Anne Serre is the author of fourteen books, as well as numerous short stories and essays, and the recipient of a 2008 Cino del Duca Foundation award. Her first novel Les Gouvernantes was praised in La Croix for 'its remarkable economy of style and in Liberation as 'a delightful Sabbath'. From its publication in 1992, till 2000, she worked under a pseudonym as book editor of a leading magazine for women.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780993009396 |
| ISBN 10 | 0993009395 |
| Title | The Governesses |
| Author | Anne Serre |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Les Fugitives |
| Year published | 2019-04-02 |
| Number of pages | 108 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Scott Moncrieff Prize 2020 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |