false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178233710m/774216.jpg 774216 4 At once a hypnotic murder mystery, scathing literary parody, soap opera, and brilliant pastiche, Betrayals is an astonishing virtuouso performance by a modern master of literary gamesmanship in the tradition of Vladimir Nabokov and John Barth.<br>The novel unforlds in a series of seemingly unrelated narratives, each written in a different style -- indeed, in a different genre. There is an obituary for a Scottish scientist and Nobel Prize winner, written by a colleague who clearly relishes his death. Early in the century, a train in the Scottish Highlands heads down the wrong track during a winter snowstorm, and the passengers are forced to abandon the train, resulting in the death -- or is it murder? -- of one of them. An inane publisher's reader summarizes the plot of a tacky hospital romance novel, which ends in a gory murder all too reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. Even a report on a contemporary academic controversy explodes into a scandal of plagiarism, shattered reputations, paranoia, and suicide -- or is it murder made to look as such?<br>As Palliser deftly teases out each new situation, it becomes clear that they are all variations on a single outrageous theme: a distinguished figure in some intellectual pursuit -- science, literature, academia -- becomes obsessed with the success of a rival and schemes his demise, only to botch the job out of sheer monomania. Like the scorpion that stings itself to death, each plotter becomes a victim of his own plot; each betrayer changes places with the betrayed in an intricate dance of deception, revenge, and revelation.<br>A challenging, engrossing, utterly original work of art, Betrayals is also pure joy to read -- a book that will make you laugh out loud, turn pages madly in pursuit of the next plot twist, and above all, marvel at the supreme ingenuity of a fictional puzzle in which the unlikeliest pieces fit together perfectly.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i> 2157719 1994 Betrayals total:30|5:1|4:0|3:0|2:0|1:0| 30 104 50 4 1 0 false false Tue Jul 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 05:30:20 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 12:52:27 -0700 2009 The Quincunx and so I bought this slimmer novel in hopes that he would rekindle some of the magic I found in the earlier book. A couple of weeks ago my wife was looking for a new book and, although I hadn't yet read this, I gave it to her. She laughed her way through it an...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Dec 02 17:38:20 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 17:38:59 -0800 2007
Betrayals is a collection of seemingly disparate narratives: an obituary for a scientist written by a colleague who seems to delight in his rival's passing; the tale...more...]]> 2 0 true false Mon Sep 21 15:30:48 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 19:35:05 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 15:30:49 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 03:56:03 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 03:59:18 -0700 2009 By: Charles Palliser
Condition: Used - Good
Sold by: owlsmart_usa (seller profile) £0.44]]> 0 0 false false Wed Nov 18 14:47:52 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 18 14:47:52 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 31 05:25:11 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 31 05:25:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 23 19:48:30 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 19:48:30 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Oct 23 06:28:35 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 06:28:35 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 29 14:10:45 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 14:10:45 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Sep 28 15:51:16 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 15:51:16 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 28 10:56:47 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 07:37:23 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Fri Sep 25 09:17:39 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 25 09:17:39 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Sep 24 08:12:08 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 08:12:08 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Sep 21 15:23:34 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 15:23:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Aug 15 21:40:34 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 15 21:40:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Aug 04 06:40:19 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 06:40:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jun 21 11:33:07 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 11:33:07 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Sat Jun 13 10:17:47 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 13 10:18:47 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Apr 20 19:58:45 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 18:01:45 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 19:58:45 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Tue Apr 07 17:23:15 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 14:15:02 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=774216