In the Absence of Men
A queer love story from First World War Paris
1st Edition
Published on 31. July 2011
192 pages
978-1-4464-8529-3 (ISBN)
Description
Vincent comes of age in Paris in the summer of 1916.
With German Zeppelins on the skyline, the men of Paris are off at war. For Vincent, the sixteen-year-old son of a prestigious family, the stillness of the city sits at odds with the candlelit salons he attends at night.
Then an electrifying encounter with the enigmatic writer, Marcel P, draws Vincent's desires out into the light, while his ever-riskier liaisons with a young solider begin to shape his future.
As the First World War tightens its grip, In the Absence of Men captures the urgency of youth and the fragility of love in a world on the brink of catastrophe.
'A short, bold and original novel which beautifully captures the romance and amorality of gilded youth' Independent
Elegant novellas-in-translation, VINTAGE EDITIONS celebrate the audacity and ambition of the written word, transporting readers to wherever in the world literary innovation may be found.
With German Zeppelins on the skyline, the men of Paris are off at war. For Vincent, the sixteen-year-old son of a prestigious family, the stillness of the city sits at odds with the candlelit salons he attends at night.
Then an electrifying encounter with the enigmatic writer, Marcel P, draws Vincent's desires out into the light, while his ever-riskier liaisons with a young solider begin to shape his future.
As the First World War tightens its grip, In the Absence of Men captures the urgency of youth and the fragility of love in a world on the brink of catastrophe.
'A short, bold and original novel which beautifully captures the romance and amorality of gilded youth' Independent
Elegant novellas-in-translation, VINTAGE EDITIONS celebrate the audacity and ambition of the written word, transporting readers to wherever in the world literary innovation may be found.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
File size
2,39 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-4464-8529-3 (9781446485293)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Philippe Besson
In the Absence of Men
Book
08/2003
Vintage
€32.37
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Persons
Frank Wynne is an Irish literary translator, writer and editor. He has translated more than a hundred French and Hispanic novels by authors including Michel Houellebecq, Patrick Modiano, Javier Cercas and Virginie Despentes. Over a career spanning more than twenty-five years, his work has twice earned him the Dublin Literary Award, he has been awarded the Scott Moncrieff Prize on three occasions and the Premio Valle Inclan twice. Most recently, his translation of The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers Guild by Mathias Enard won the 2024 French-American Prize. He was the first translator to chair the jury for the International Booker Prize.
