Shipwreck

A mesmerizing novel of deception and betrayal from the acclaimed author of Wartime Lies and About Schmidt.John North, a prizewinning 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 cafyes'>#233; called Lyes'>#8217;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. Northyes'>#8217;s chosen interlocutoryes'>#8211;who could be his doppelgyes'>#228;ngeryes'>#8211;is transfixed by the revelations and becomes the narrator of Northyes'>#8217;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 Lyes'>#233;a, a starstruck young journalist. Coolly planning to make sure that his life with Lydia will not be disturbed, North is taken off guard when Lyes'>#233;a 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 selfdestruction. Shipwreck is a daring parable of the contradictory impulses that can rend a single soulyes'>#8211;narcissism and selfloathing, refinement and lust.From the Hardcover edition.