Читать книгу The Testament Of Yves Gundron - Emily Barton - Страница 2

EMILY BARTON graduated from Harvard and the

Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“It is funny and sexy, with echoes not only of Garcia Marquez, but of Nabokov, Pynchon and, of all things, Star Trek … a comedy of cultures in collision, a tragedy of paradise interrupted and a dangerously requited love story.” San Francisco Chronicle

“Rich in emotional depth and intellectual curiosity, this generous, strangely ego-free novel finds sweetness and clarity in ‘that state of affairs we had never known to call Peace’.” Guardian

“An intriguing debut … This is an imaginative modern fable that looks at what is lost and what is gained as technology and the modern world change forever the traditional way of life.” The Bookseller

“Once you’re off there’s no holding you back. Not even with a harness.” Tatler

“The Testament of Yves Gundron is an ironic, postmodern take on grand narratives of progress. Barton manages to avoid the potentially over-whelming self-reflexivity of such a strategy through adroitly placed pathos and sympathy.” Literary Review

“Emily Barton’s remarkable first novel proves difficult to define; it straddles genres while possessing a curious familiarity, reminiscent at times of Swift and Peake, set against the landscape of a Brueghel painting.” Observer

“It takes a curious imagination to create an original and endearing novel around the invention of the harness, but Barton’s debut ploughs such a furrow … Leaping genres, and expectations, this quaint folktale mutates quickly into a sci-fi puzzle.” The Times

“Barton writes like a modernist sympathetic to the ideology of a preromantic luddite. In today’s world of e-commerce and digital technology, The Testament of Yves Gundron is both poignant and thought-provoking.” Go

“There are few things more exciting than the discovery of new talent, and with The Testament of Yves Gundron Emily Barton has proved that she has both talent and heart.” The Scotsman

“An unusual, imaginative and deeply engrossing tale … Barton’s debut novel becomes something far more intelligent and complex than suggested by the fable-like tone of its early pages, resulting in a lyrical meditation on the notion of progress that is as fascinating as it is enchanting.” Metro

“In Mandragora, Barton creates a village that seems true to life with evocative language and a memorable narrator. As the story speeds along mixing humour with morality, we share Yves’ joy at progress but also the seeds of doubt sown alongside it.” The List

“Emily Barton’s debut; is intelligent, skilfully handled and a very odd mixture of antiquity and topicality. Barton’s Testament is a simple allegory, a comedy of cultures in collision, a love story and a confessional.” Big Issue in the North

“If the power of imagination is your thing, this won’t fail to disappoint. Impressive stuff.” Uncut

“An essential read.” Scottish Book Collector