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Interviews | February 14, 2012

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Stephen DauStephen Dau's The Book of Jonas is a marvelous, lyrical debut that examines the effects of war on everyone involved. Dau weaves together the stories... Continue »
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1 Burnside Literature- A to Z

Athena

by John Banville

Athena Cover

 

Staff Pick

Banville really is a writer closer to Nabakov and Joyce than most of his contemporaries. It's easy to see in this novel of obsession, which follows a former felon turned art historian who is asked to verify the authenticity of a stack of suspicious paintings. Things get complicated, and the narrator falls deep under the spell of a mysterious woman. The language is erotic and sensual even outside of the sex scenes. Various interludes, in the form of brief art reviews written by the narrator, offset the action, provide pacing, and eventually weave themselves into the plot. Stylistically, Athena is masterful, and the detective-novel genre gets a good workout in the hands of a writer able to make every line beautiful, and every word count.
Recommended by Jason W., Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

From the internationally acclaimed author of The Book of Evidence and Ghosts comes a mesmerizing novel that is both a literary thriller and a love story as sumptuously perverse as Lolita. "A strange and dreamlike book . . . Banville has a breathtaking style."--Boston Globe.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780679736851
Author:
Banville, John
Publisher:
Vintage
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Painting
Subject:
Psychological
Subject:
Mystery & detective
Subject:
Contemporary
Subject:
Forgeries
Subject:
Romantic suspense novels
Subject:
Black humor (Literature)
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
Edition Number:
1
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series:
Vintage International
Publication Date:
19960528
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
240
Dimensions:
7.98x5.21x.75 in. .61 lbs.

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Athena Used Trade Paper
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$6.95 In Stock
Product details 240 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9780679736851 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

Banville really is a writer closer to Nabakov and Joyce than most of his contemporaries. It's easy to see in this novel of obsession, which follows a former felon turned art historian who is asked to verify the authenticity of a stack of suspicious paintings. Things get complicated, and the narrator falls deep under the spell of a mysterious woman. The language is erotic and sensual even outside of the sex scenes. Various interludes, in the form of brief art reviews written by the narrator, offset the action, provide pacing, and eventually weave themselves into the plot. Stylistically, Athena is masterful, and the detective-novel genre gets a good workout in the hands of a writer able to make every line beautiful, and every word count.

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