Confessions
Published on 13. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
760 pages
978-1-910050-57-6 (ISBN)
Description
"Monumental" Guardian
An instant bestseller in ten languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man's life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony.
Drawing comparisons with Shadow of the Wind, The Name of the Rose and The Reader, and an instant bestseller in ten languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man s life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony.
At 60 and with a diagnosis of early Alzheimer's, Adria Ardevol re-examines his life before his memory is systematically deleted. He recalls a loveless childhood where the family antique business and his father's study become the centre of his world; where a treasured Storioni violin retains the shadows of a crime committed many years earlier. His mother, a cold, distant and pragmatic woman leaves him to his solitary games, full of unwanted questions. An accident ends the life of his enigmatic father, filling Adria's world with guilt, secrets and deeply troubling mysteries that take him years to uncover and driving him deep into the past where atrocities are methodically exposed and examined.
Gliding effortlessly between centuries, and at the same time providing a powerful narrative that is at once shocking, compelling, mysterious, tragic, humorous and gloriously readable, Confessions reaches a crescendo that is not only unexpected but provides one of the most startling denouements in contemporary literature. Confessions is a consummate masterpiece in any language, with an ending that will not just leave you thinking, but quite possibly change the way you think forever.
Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
An instant bestseller in ten languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man's life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony.
Drawing comparisons with Shadow of the Wind, The Name of the Rose and The Reader, and an instant bestseller in ten languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man s life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony.
At 60 and with a diagnosis of early Alzheimer's, Adria Ardevol re-examines his life before his memory is systematically deleted. He recalls a loveless childhood where the family antique business and his father's study become the centre of his world; where a treasured Storioni violin retains the shadows of a crime committed many years earlier. His mother, a cold, distant and pragmatic woman leaves him to his solitary games, full of unwanted questions. An accident ends the life of his enigmatic father, filling Adria's world with guilt, secrets and deeply troubling mysteries that take him years to uncover and driving him deep into the past where atrocities are methodically exposed and examined.
Gliding effortlessly between centuries, and at the same time providing a powerful narrative that is at once shocking, compelling, mysterious, tragic, humorous and gloriously readable, Confessions reaches a crescendo that is not only unexpected but provides one of the most startling denouements in contemporary literature. Confessions is a consummate masterpiece in any language, with an ending that will not just leave you thinking, but quite possibly change the way you think forever.
Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
Reviews / Votes
Not only a profound meditation on evil but a dazzling work of imagination * Scotland on Sunday * Monumental * Guardian * Hitting the jackpot with Confessions, Cabre's is a story of European history from the Inquisition to Auschwitz * Figaro * Its complexity turns Confessions into a piece of writing that has the power to influence our view of the world - a quality belonging to the best of literature' * El Mundo * The narrative unfolds with such creativity and mastery ... perfection from an author who has reached the very highest level of excellence in his craft. This book has earned its place alongside the classics -- Joan Josep Isern Absolutely captivating -- Andrea Camilleri Absolutely captivating -- Andrea CamilleriMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Quercus Publishing
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 50 mm
Weight
698 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-910050-57-6 (9781910050576)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jaume Cabre is a Catalan philologist, novelist and screenwriter who graduated in Catalan Philology from the University of Barcelona, is a high-school teacher on leave of absence, a professor at the University of Lleida, and a member of the Philological Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. For many years he has combined literary writing with teaching. He has also worked in television and cinema. He collaborated with Joaquim Maria Puyal as creator and scriptwriter of the first Catalan television series: La Granja (1989-1992), followed by numerous other shows. Confessions was sold for translation to more than 20 languages and has sold more than a million copies worldwide.