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Imprint: Penguin
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Published: 30/06/2016
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ISBN: 9780241970010
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Length: 256 Pages
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Dimensions: 198mm x 16mm x 129mm
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Weight: 181g
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RRP: £8.99
From John Banville, one of the world's greatest writers, comes The Blue Guitar, a story of theft and the betrayal of friendship.
Adultery is always put in terms of thieving. But we were happy together, simply happy.
Oliver Orme used to be a painter, well known and well rewarded, but the muse has deserted him. He is also, as he confesses, a petty thief; he does not steal for gain, but for the thrill of it. HIs worst theft is Polly, the wife of his friend Marcus, with whom he has had an affair. When the affair is discovered, Oliver hides himself away in his childhood home. From here he tells the story of a year, from one autumn to the next. Many surprises and shocks await him, and by the end of his story, he will be forced to face himself and seek a road towards redemption.
Shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2016
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Imprint: Penguin
-
Published: 30/06/2016
-
ISBN: 9780241970010
-
Length: 256 Pages
-
Dimensions: 198mm x 16mm x 129mm
-
Weight: 181g
-
RRP: £8.99
Reviews
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This engrossing and often beautiful novel is a true work of art that rewards careful reading
Daily Telegraph
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Banville is a gorgeous writer who can nail an emotion
The Times
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He shows himself, once again, as one of contemporary literature's finest and most expert witnesses... compelling and matchless prose
The Observer
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The book is cherishable as a meditation on life's transience, the mysteries and fleetingness of love, the waning of sexual desire, and the lost domain of childhood
The Irish Independent
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An elegant novel of tangled infidelity
The Scotsman
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A brilliant study of memory, regret and inescapable alienation in relationships (...) a portrait of human frailty, it is surprisingly uplifting
The Lady
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Banville's prose sparkles as Orme ponders the nature of art, his life, happiness, memory and love
The Daily Express
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Banville is an expert in masculine interiority... achieving this by a luminous prose style
The Independent
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Banville, the Nabokov of contemporary literature, can turn even a straightforward comeuppance tale into breath-taking literary art
Press Association
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Banville is one of the writers I admire the most - few people can create an image as beautifully or precisely
Hanya Yanagihara, author of the Booker-shortlisted 'A Little Life'
