shipwreck_begley
2005 Longlist

Shipwreck

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

John North, a prize-winning American writer, is suddenly beset by dark suspicions about the real value of his work. Over endless hours and bottles of whiskey consumed in a mysterious café called L’Entre Deux Mondes, he recounts, in counterpoint to his doubts, the one story he has never told before, perhaps the only important one he will ever tell. North’s chosen interlocutor-who could be his doppelgänger-is transfixed by the revelations and becomes the narrator of North’s tale.
North has always been faithful to his wife, Lydia, but when one of his novels achieves a special success, he allows himself a dalliance with Léa, a star struck young journalist. Coolly planning to make sure that his life with Lydia will not be disturbed, North is taken off guard when Léa becomes obsessed with him and he with her elaborate erotic games. As the hypnotic and serpentine confession unfurls, we gradually discover the extraordinary lengths to which North has gone to indulge a powerful desire for self-destruction.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Louis
Begley

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
27/01/2025
Country
United States
Original Language
English
Author
Publisher
Alfred A. Knopf

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