Tongues of Flame

(Paperback)

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Description

'A hilarious and original portrait of a young boy grappling with good and evil' - New York Times Book Review The gift of tongues, prophecy exorcism. . . what might such concepts mean in a complacent backwater of North London For Richard Bowen, adolescence becomes a nightmare when his parents join the charismatic movement and find a devil in his brother. Winner of the Somerset Maugham and Betty Trask Awards.

Reviews

Religion, sex and mania bursting hoof-footed from suburban doors -- Fay Weldon
Not since The Catcher in the Rye has there been such a believable portrayal of male puberty. The quality of story-telling and the cadence of the prose have a piercing authenticity * Catholic Herald *
As a technician [Parks] cannot be faulted. His book builds to a terrifying tour de force, made bearable only by the tight prose -- Jeanette Winterson
He can write, at will, like a modern Henry James, proceeding with composure through the labyrinth * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Born in Manchester, Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since. He is the author of novels, non-fiction and essays, including Europa, Cleaver, A Season with Verona and Teach Us to Sit Still. He has won the Somerset Maugham, Betty Trask and Llewellyn Rhys awards, and been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He lectures on literary translation in Milan, writes for publications such as the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, and his many translations from the Italian include works by Moravia, Calvino, Calasso, Tabucchi and Machiavelli.