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Compass
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Check link for latest rating. ( 2,795 ratings, 460 reviews)
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Compass
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See moreWinner of the 2015 Prix Goncourt, this is Mathias Enard's most ambitious novel since Zone.
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Description
As night falls over Vienna, Franz Ritter, an insomniac musicologist, takes to his sickbed with an unspecified illness and spends a restless night drifting between dreams and memories, revisiting the important chapters of his life: his ongoing fascination with the Middle East and his numerous travels to Istanbul, Aleppo, Damascus, and Tehran, as well as the various writers, artists, musicians, academics, orientalists, and explorers who populate this vast dreamscape. At the centre of these memories is his elusive, unrequited love, Sarah, a fiercely intelligent French scholar caught in the intricate tension between Europe and the Middle East.
An immersive, nocturnal, musical novel, full of generous erudition and bittersweet humour, Compass is a journey and a declaration of admiration, a quest for the otherness inside us all and a hand reaching out - like a bridge between West and East, yesterday and tomorrow.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Compass by Mathias Enard is widely praised for its rich and intricate narrative, offering an immersive journey through the cultural and historical landscapes of the Mediterranean. Critics commend its depth, describing it as a complex, yet rewarding read full of literary and historical insight. The book's unique style and broad scope, featuring an Austrian musicologist's introspective exploration, earn it comparisons to Proust and acclaim as an important work in contemporary fiction.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781910695234
Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 22 March 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Fitzcarraldo Editions
Contributors:
- Translated by Charlotte Mandell
- Translated by Charlotte Mandell
- Translated by Charlotte Mandell
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 127.0mm
Height: 195.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 480
Collections
About the Author
Mathias Enard, born in 1972, studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several awards for Zone, including the Prix du Livre Inter and the Prix Decembre, and won the Liste Goncourt/Le Choix de l'Orient, the Prix litteraire de la Porte Doree, and the Prix du Roman-News for Street of Thieves. He won the 2015 Prix Goncourt for Compass.
Charlotte Mandell has translated fiction, poetry, and philosophy from the French, including works by Proust, Flaubert, Genet, Maupassant and Blanchot.
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