Overview

A gorgeous Romanian modern classic about love and relationships, with an introduction by Booker-winner John Banville Stefan Valeriu, a young Romanian student, holidays alone in the Alps, where he soon becomes entangled in romantic relationships with three different women who pass through his guesthouse. We follow Stefan after his return to Paris as he reflects on the women in his life, at times playing the lover, and at others observing shrewdly from the periphery. Women's four interlinked stories offer nuanced and deeply moving portraits of romantic relationships in all their complexity, from unrequited love and passionate affairs to tepid marriages of convenience. In light, elegant prose, Mihail Sebastian, widely regarded as the greatest Romanian writer of the 20th century, explores longing, otherness, empathy, and regret.

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9780241442906

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Reviews

A minor masterpiece of voice, mood and emotion * Irish Times * Sebastian died a victim of an automobile accident in 1946, having survived the Second World War and the Holocaust. That fatal moment robbed the literary world of a unique voice * New York Journal of Books * If there is any justice [Sebastian's] posthumous profile will increase * Herald Scotland * Sebastian's observations of the complex physical and emotional details of romantic intrigue are perceptive and affectionate....these concise stories...showcase Sebastian's brilliant eye for emotional detail * Publishers Weekly * His prose is like something Chekhov might have written - the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation -- Arthur Miller Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years. -- Philippe Sands * Guardian Books of the Year 2016 * A compelling portrait of desire * Kirkus * Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors * New Statesman * I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit -- John Banville

Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors * New Statesman * If there is any justice [Sebastian's] posthumous profile will increase * Herald Scotland * Sebastian's observations of the complex physical and emotional details of romantic intrigue are perceptive and affectionate....these concise stories...showcase Sebastian's brilliant eye for emotional detail * Publishers Weekly * A compelling portrait of desire * Kirkus * His prose is like something Chekov might have written - the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation -- Arthur Miller Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years. -- Philippe Sands * Guardian Books of the Year 2016 * I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit -- John Banville

Sebastian died a victim of an automobile accident in 1946, having survived the Second World War and the Holocaust. That fatal moment robbed the literary world of a unique voice * New York Journal of Books * Sebastian belongs in the pantheon of classic authors * New Statesman * If there is any justice [Sebastian's] posthumous profile will increase * Herald Scotland * Sebastian's observations of the complex physical and emotional details of romantic intrigue are perceptive and affectionate....these concise stories...showcase Sebastian's brilliant eye for emotional detail * Publishers Weekly * A compelling portrait of desire * Kirkus * His prose is like something Chekov might have written - the same modesty, candour, and subtleness of observation -- Arthur Miller Nothing I have read is more affecting than Mihail Sebastian's magnificent, haunting 1934 novel, For Two Thousand Years. -- Philippe Sands * Guardian Books of the Year 2016 * I love Sebastian's courage, his lightness, and his wit -- John Banville

Author Information

Mihail Sebastian (Author) Mihail Sebastian was born in Romania in 1907 as Iosef Hecter. He worked as a lawyer and writer until anti-Semitic legislation forced him to abandon his public career. Having survived the war and the Holocaust, he was killed in a road accident early in 1945 as he was crossing the street to teach his first class. His long-lost diary, Journal 1935-1944- The Fascist Years, was published to great acclaim in the late 1990s. John Banville (Introducer) John Banville was born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of fourteen previous novels including The Sea, which won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. He was recently awarded the Franz Kafka Prize. He lives in Dublin.

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