Synopses & Reviews
A sophisticated, taboo-breaking novel of the sexual obsession of an older man and a young married woman, in the long-awaited return of an acclaimed novelist."Once upon a time, her aunt calls . . . Can he meet with the niece?" He is a writer, middle-aged, thoughtful, engaged in a project that involves observing and describing the female form. The niece is young, married, and beautiful, an art historian who wants to write. They have much in common, the aunt suggests.
The light acquaintance soon turns darkly erotic. The writer recounts an increasingly charged series of trysts in which he and the young woman create a heady otherworld, where there are no husbands and no limits, where uninhibited lovers may discard the deepest taboos. No longer merely subjects for conversation, the passions shared by the writer and the young woman -- for art, storytelling, and experience -- fuel a transgressive vision of love that cannot, in the end, compete with the demands of the ordered world.
Written in taut, hypnotic prose, The Beholder plumbs the seductive depths of obsession and the paradoxes of the human heart. In his first novel in fifteen years, Thomas Farber has delivered a rapturous evocation of erotic love.
Thomas Farber is the author of nine previous books, inducting a novel, Curves of Pursuit. A former commentator for NPR's All Things Considered, he has received numerous awards, among them Guggenheim, Fulbright, and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. He currently teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.
"Once upon a time, her aunt phones . . . Can he meet with the niece?" He is a writer, middle-aged, thoughtful, engaged in a project that involves observing and describing the female form. The niece is young, married, and beautiful, an art historian who wants to write fiction.
An initial rapport soon turns darkly erotic. The writer recounts a charged series of trysts in which he and the young woman find themselves in a secret otherworld, both enchanted and claustrophobic, where the increasingly uninhibited lovers discard the deepest taboos. No longer merely subjects for conversation, the passions shared by the writer and the young womanfor art, storytelling, and experiencefuel a transgressive vision of love that cannot, in the end, compete with the demands of the ordered world.
Written in taut, hypnotic prose, The Beholder plumbs the seductive depths of obsession and the paradoxes of the human heart. In his first novel in fifteen years, Thomas Farber has delivered a rapturous evocation of erotic love.
"A beautiful feeling of everything coming together in space and timeand yes, even in a kind of love."Anatole Broyard, The New York Times
"Thomas Farber has added to the line of classic short novels, joining the company of Conrad, James, and Lawrence, and plumbing in The Beholder's vortical form, the depths of loneliness."Coleman Barks, author of Tentmaking and translator of The Essential Rumi
"Here is a poet who writes with economy and precise beauty of desire, love, and the irrevocable loneliness of the heart. The narrative voice is so compelling that the reader becomes the man, the woman, the memories. Don't miss this book."Isabel Allende, author of Portrait of Sepia
"Wonderfula sumptuous feast of sex play, word play, and ruminations on love, commitment, and morality. By the last page, Thomas Farber has made the lovers' loss and sorrows our own."Peter Coyote, author of Sleeping Where I Fall
"Imagine Colette's Cheri, but with a middle-aged man and a much younger married woman. Given the stark and dazzling eroticism, it would be all too easy to overlook the real daring of Thomas Farber's alternately subtle and explicit work: the unsparing exploration of what is truly risked when one too deeply loves someone who always holds something in reserve. You read, completely compelled. Afterward comes the haunting."Laura Glen Louis, author of Talking in the Dark
"In this radiant novel, Thomas Farber creates a new lattice of desire: possession intersects with loss at a thousand points. Haunting the spaces in between is a woman with the face of a dream, the voice of a muse, the innocence of a daughter, the body of a lover."Steve Erickson, author of The Sea Came in at Midnight
"This novel is an impressive display of his wisdom."Publishers Weekly
"Farber limns the perils of Eros with terse, minimalist prose that mordantly conveys the raw, emotive tension of this doomed relationship."Booklist
Review
". . . a beautiful feeling of everything coming together in space and time -- and yes, even in a kind of love."
--Anatole Broyard, The New York Times
Review
“Irrepressible carnality...Farber limns the perils of Eros with terse, minimalist prose.” —
Booklist
Synopsis
Written in taut, hypnotic prose, "The Beholder" plumbs the seductive depths of obsession and the paradoxes of the human heart. In his first novel in 15-years, Farber has delivered a rapturous evocation of erotic love.
Synopsis
A sophisticated, taboo-breaking novel of the sexual obsession of an older man and a young married woman, in the long-awaited return of an acclaimed novelist."Once upon a time, her aunt calls . . . Can he meet with the niece?" He is a writer, middle-aged, thoughtful, engaged in a project that involves observing and describing the female form. The niece is young, married, and beautiful, an art historian who wants to write. They have much in common, the aunt suggests.
The light acquaintance soon turns darkly erotic. The writer recounts an increasingly charged series of trysts in which he and the young woman create a heady otherworld, where there are no husbands and no limits, where uninhibited lovers may discard the deepest taboos. No longer merely subjects for conversation, the passions shared by the writer and the young woman -- for art, storytelling, and experience -- fuel a transgressive vision of love that cannot, in the end, compete with the demands of the ordered world.
Written in taut, hypnotic prose, The Beholder plumbs the seductive depths of obsession and the paradoxes of the human heart. In his first novel in fifteen years, Thomas Farber has delivered a rapturous evocation of erotic love.
Synopsis
In the words of Isabel Allende, “Here is a poet who writes with economy and precise beauty of desire, love, and the irrevocable loneliness of the heart.” In his first novel since the highly acclaimed
Curves of Pursuit, Thomas Farber has created his own language of love, in this rapturous evocation of an obsessive and erotic relationship.
He is a writer, middle-aged, thoughtful, long engaged in a project that involves observing and describing the female form. She is young, married, and beautiful, an art historian who wants to write.
The writer recounts an increasingly charged series of trysts in which he and the young woman create a heady other-world where there are no husbands and no limits. No longer merely subjects for conversation, the passions shared by the writer and the young woman—for art, storytelling, and experience—fuel a transgressive vision of love that cannot, in the end, compete with the demands of the ordered world, and someone must lose.
About the Author
Thomas Farber is the author of four works of nonfiction and four collections of short stories, as well as a novel,
Curves of Pursuit. He has written for the
San Francisco Chronicle. The recipient of numerous grants, Farber teaches creative writing at the University of California, Berkeley. He lives in San Francisco.