Artifice

(Hardback)

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Description

Abel Bac, a police officer, has been suspended from duty for unknown reasons. Haunted by a recurring nightmare, he walks the streets of Paris hoping to lose himself in the city, but somehow, he always finds his way home. Solitary by nature, he retreats from the extroversion of his new neighbour Elsa, and his former colleague Camille who is pained by her unrequited love for him. All that gives Abel comfort are the ninety-four orchids which populate his small apartment.

In museums across Paris something strange is happening. A white horse appears in the library of the Pompidou Centre. In a small museum, stuffed wolves are displayed in fine garments drinking tea. The police are baffled and Abel, who is somehow linked to it all, is becoming more and more unnerved.

Soon, the hidden darkness of his life will rise to the surface and lead him to Mila, the mysterious artist at the heart of this enigma. And it is not long before we discover that nothing about these events is coincidental.

Reviews

A breathtaking book confirming Claire Berest's inexhaustible talent as a storyteller * Elle *
An astonishing thriller ... full of mystery and dark humour * Libration *
Deliciously unique and unpredictable ... this novel blossoms like a poisonous flower * Le Journal du Dimanche *
A cleverly crafted novel made up of trompe l'oeil, red herrings, and mistaken identities. Dreamlike and dark ... unique * Le Figaro *
The writing is skilful, the narrative propels us forward ... a scintillating fire of many colours * Page *
An intense thriller where performance art intersects with tragedy ... brilliant and captivating * Le Plerin *
Spellbinding * Notre Temps *

Author Bio

CLAIRE BEREST is a writer from Paris. In 2019, her novel Rien n'est noir about the life of Frida Kahlo won Elle's Grand Prix des lectrices. With her sister Anne, she is also the author of Gabriele, a critically-acclaimed biography of her great-grandmother, Gabriele Buffet-Picabia, Marcel Duchamp's lover and muse. She is the great-granddaughter of the painter Francis Picabia.

SOPHIE LEWIS is a literary editor and translator from French and Portuguese into English. She has translated works by Jules Verne, Marcel Ayme, Violette Leduc, Leila Slimani and Joao Gilberto Noll, among others. Her translations have been shortlisted for the Scott Moncrieff and Republic of Consciousness prizes, and longlisted for the International Booker Prize.