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The Borough Press
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017
Copyright © Lionel Shriver 1997
Cover design by Stuart Bache © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2017
Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com
Lionel Shriver asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books
Source ISBN: 9780008209773
Ebook Edition © June 2017 ISBN: 9780008209780
Version: 2017-04-06
‘A brilliant tale of doomed love’
Observer
‘The scenes between Willy and Eric are terrific pieces of writing: the dialogue crackles with rage, frustration and bitterness’
Independent
‘That Shriver refuses to avert her gaze, much less sweeten the pill, is what makes her such an interesting writer. She does not coax, or wheedle: she challenges. She makes you think’
Daily Telegraph
‘Shriver is a truly remarkable star in the literary firmament. She has an uncanny sense of the way women subject themselves to secret, inward torture, weighing themselves down with passionate feelings they believe socially unacceptable to bring out in the open … I doubt there is any thoughtful woman who does not recognise herself somewhere in Shriver’s writing’
LISA JARDINE, Financial Times
‘The characters and situations are utterly convincing and the level of detail in the narrative provides a ghastly gossipy pleasure’
LESLEY GLAISTER
‘Shriver doesn’t care whether her characters are likeable or not: they play off one another’s strengths and weaknesses in a mesmerizing grudge match’
Saga
‘With prose as taut as a well-strung racquet, you’ll be captivated’
Marie Claire
‘Her writing is as precise and devastating as a Federer forehand’
Belfast Telegraph
‘When feminism has become the politics that dare not speak its name, it is refreshing to find an author who will bring such renewed vigour to the gender wars’
Guardian
‘Her exploration of her characters is so fearless that although readers may not sympathise with her, they’ll understand why she’s driven to destroy what she loves’
Metro
To Jonathan
Whose real name I may use so rarely to save it for special occasions.
Dedicated in the fervent hope that we will confine this plot to paper.
‘Rarely do you get something if you want it too much.
There isn’t a tennis player in the world who
can’t tell when an opponent is frightened.’
TED TINLING
Contents
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Author’s Note
