The Lady and the Little Fox Fur (Penguin European Writers)

The Lady and the Little Fox Fur (Penguin European Writers)

by Deborah Levy (Introduction), Deborah Levy (Introduction), Violette Leduc (Author)

Synopsis

'Violette Leduc's novels are works of genius and also a bit peculiar' Deborah Levy, from the introduction An old woman lives alone in a tiny attic flat in Paris, counting out coffee beans every morning beneath the roar of the overhead metro. Starving, she spends her days walking around the city, each step a bid for recognition of her own existence. She rides crowded metro carriages to feel the warmth of other bodies, and watches the hot batter of pancakes drip from the hands of street-sellers. One morning she awakes with an urgent need to taste an orange; but when she rummages in the bins she finds instead a discarded fox fur scarf. The little fox fur becomes the key to her salvation, the friend who changes her lonely existence into a playful world of her own invention. The Lady and the Little Fox Fur is a stunning portrait of Paris, of the invisibility we all feel in a big city, and ultimately of the hope and triumph of a woman who reclaims her place in the world. 'A moving, beautiful and authentic classic. We must be grateful to the Penguin European Writers series, a precious venture in these dark times, for bringing it back to us.' John Banville, Booker prize-winning author of The Sea 'The great French feminist writer we need to remember' Guardian

$11.44

Quantity

3 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 96
Edition: 1
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 06 Sep 2018

ISBN 10: 0241357454
ISBN 13: 9780241357453
Book Overview: A quirky and compassionate tale of a woman's solitary wanderings through 1960s Paris, with an introduction by Deborah Levy.

Media Reviews
A forceful affirmation of the human spirit * Guardian *
Violette Leduc's novels are works of genius and also a bit peculiar -- Deborah Levy, from the introduction
She can capture the smells of a country childhood, dazzle with the lights of the Place de la Concorde or make you feel the silky slither of her eel-grey suit * Observer *
This book is as richly humane as anything else you're likely to read * Independent *
What is important about Violette Leduc is the extraordinary perfection she brings to experience and the exquisite skill she uses to describe it * Daily Mail *
The great French feminist writer we need to remember * Guardian *
A vastly under-read author -- Lauren Elkin, author of Flaneuse
Leduc's short book is magnificently disproportionate to its length. A moving, beautiful and authentic classic. We must be grateful to the Penguin European Writers series, a precious venture in these dark times, for bringing it back to us. -- John Banville
Author Bio
VIOLETTE LEDUC was born in Arras in 1907, the illegitimate child of a servant girl. Sent to boarding school before the First World War, Violette was later expelled upon the discovery of her love affair with both another female pupil and her music teacher. During the Second World War she published her memoir, The Bastard, which scandalized the literary world with its explicit account of lesbian love, sold 150,000 copies in its first year, and earned her the acclaim of Simone de Beauvoir, Sartre and Camus. In 2013 a film was made of her life, Violette. She died in 1972.