We are smitten to the periodic devotions to his wife, his superficial helpfulness to those in need, his appreciation of the underdogs of society and his rejection of snobbery and elitism. We are initially excited by his sexual awakening and burgeoning awareness of his own sensual beauty. We are seduced by beauty, attempts at love, philosophical arguments, works of great art and intimate conversation. We are in the heat, windstorms, alpine winters and sensuous springtimes. We are in North Africa, France, Switzerland and Italy. The book utilizes the vicissitudes of landscape, weather and nuances of emotions to seduce the reader into rooting for this most hateful of villains and his attempts at self-transformation. In between is some of the most exquisite writing and the transformation of a young man from upstanding citizen to a malignant narcissist. The book begins with a suppressed young dutiful intellectual and ends with a despairing debauched and self-deluded libertine. This book mesmerized and shocked me in equal measure.īeautiful in its writing, quiet in its execution, seductive in its message and destructive in its implications. 5 "satanic, provocative, deceptive" stars !!
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