Confessions - by Mara Faye Letham (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

With a new introduction by Colm Toíbín

"Absolutely captivating" ANDREA CAMILLERI

"Monumental" Guardian

Drawing comparisons with Shadow of the Wind and The Name of the Rose, and an instant bestseller in many languages, Confessions is an astonishing story of one man's life, interwoven with a narrative that stretches across centuries to create an addictive and unforgettable literary symphony.

At 60 and with a diagnosis of early Alzheimer's, Adria Ardevol re-examines his life before his memory is systematically deleted. He recalls a loveless childhood where the family antique business and his father's study become the centre of his world; where a treasured Storioni violin retains the shadows of a crime committed many years earlier. His mother, a cold, distant and pragmatic woman leaves him to his solitary games, full of unwanted questions. An accident ends the life of his enigmatic father, filling Adria's world with guilt, secrets and deeply troubling mysteries that take him years to uncover and driving him deep into the past where atrocities are methodically exposed and examined.

Gliding effortlessly between centuries, and at the same time providing a powerful narrative that is at once shocking, compelling, mysterious, tragic, humorous and gloriously readable, Confessions reaches a crescendo that is not only unexpected but provides one of the most startling denouements in contemporary literature. Confessions is a consummate masterpiece in any language, with an ending that will not just leave you thinking, but quite possibly change the way you think for ever.

Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

Review Quotes

Absolutely captivating

Hitting the jackpot with Confessions, Cabré's is a story of European history from the Inquisition to Auschwitz--Figaro

Its complexity turns Confessions into a piece of writing that has the power to influence our view of the world - a quality belonging to the best of literature'--El Mundo

Monumental--Guardian

Not only a profound meditation on evil but a dazzling work of imagination--Scotland on Sunday

The narrative unfolds with such creativity and mastery ... perfection from an author who has reached the very highest level of excellence in his craft. This book has earned its place alongside the classics

About the Author

Jaume Cabré is a Catalan philologist, novelist and screenwriter who graduated in Catalan Philology from the University of Barcelona, is a high-school teacher on leave of absence, a professor at the University of Lleida, and a member of the Philological Section of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. For many years he has combined literary writing with teaching. He has also worked in television and cinema. He collaborated with Joaquim Maria Puyal as creator and scriptwriter of the first Catalan television series: La Granja (1989-1992), followed by numerous other shows. Confessions was sold for translation to more than 20 languages and has sold more than a million copies worldwide.