U.V.

Book ID/图书代码： 0786.8604B04514

English Summary/英文概要： A gripping Hitchcockian tale of summer heat, wealth and mystery. Nerve-racking and surprising.A sultry summer day. A mansion house on a secluded island off the coast of Britanny on a. Beautiful people by the pool, wealth, ease and voluptuousness. A handsome and relaxed white-clad stranger arrives. He introduces himself as an old boarding-school friend of the prodigal son, expected to return any day.By the time the day’s last boat to the mainland leaves without Boris, he has made friends with the two flirtatious sisters, the ageing father and the congenial mother. The son-in-law is the only one made uneasy by this man who seems too good to be true.The whole story takes place over only two days. Joncour keeps creating potentially dramatic situations, leading us to expect disaster : a night swim in the most dangerous part of the island, the discovery of a corpse, a call from the gendarmes, a speedboat outing, a visit to the mansion’s armoury, even a dip in the pool take on sinister undertones. As almost every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger, the beginning of the following one both relieves the reader and deepens the sense of brooding catastrophe.The background gradually unfolds : the slightly boring but efficient son-in-law used to work for the family before marrying the daughter ; unknown to the others, the prodigal son was in jail rather than living the life in the US, covered up by his brother-in-law ; this is where the handsome Boris helped him adjust and protected him from the other inmates.When Philip finally reappears, we brace ourselves for tragedy but here again, Joncour manages to astonish us with a most economical and powerful ending in a dazzling game of cat and mouse.This is a great read, terse and tense from beginning to end. Joncour conveys atmosphere and feelings with just a few words. We can feel the heat, the sultry luxuriousness of the two women competing for the handsome stranger, the son-in-law’s rising panic, the old man’s return of strength and longing for his son through his amazing fascination for seductive Boris, and last but not least, the conflicting feelings experienced by this « talented Mr Ripley »-like character, a mixture of lies and ingeniuty, yearning for their wealth and easy life, hatred and destructiveness.A fabulous book which would make a fabulous film.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 布列塔尼附近的小岛上住着一家富人，一对夫妇和他们已成人的两个女儿。他们的儿子说是在美国生活，说不定什么时候会回家。这天，岛上来了一个英俊的年轻人，说是他儿子的同学。他的翩翩风度不仅令两位老人喜欢，更使两个女儿争着去亲近他。唯一有点警惕的是他们的女婿。仅仅两天的时间里发生了许多不寻常的事，使人怀疑这个年轻人有什么邪恶的阴谋。女婿与他进行智斗，落了下风。儿子突然回家更使事情有了意想不到的结局。

Awards/获奖情况：

About the Author/作者介绍：

Format:MASS MARKET TRADE PAPERBACK

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：SOLD

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

原文第一章内容：暂无

手稿：暂无

大纲：暂无