Illegal Liaisons
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A passionate novel of unstoppable physical obsession amongst a group of Brussels eurocrats, Illegal Liaisons offers a fascinating insight into the first Polish generation that is truly 'free', but struggle to know where the boundaries of that freedom lie. Plebanek's characters have to negotiate between the old-fashioned devout Catholicism they grew up with, and the modern way of living they are desperate to embrace. Watch them as they try to claim their rightful place within the international crowd in the big world that turns out to be really rather small. Expect the upending of stereotypes, libidos run wild, graphic eroticisim, and, ultimately, the soul searching and hard realities.
Grazyna Plebanek is a highly acclaimed and bestselling author in Poland. Plebanek's latest novel, Illegal Liaisons, is her first novel to be translated into English. In 2011 Plebanek was awarded the Literary Prize Zlote Sowy for her contribution to promoting Poland abroad. She lives in Brussels, Belgium.
"Plebanek's crisp and intelligent new novel is full of pitch-perfect descriptions, mostly but not exclusively about sex, and its contemplation.... A merciless comedy of modern manners, and the politics of desire." —Publishers Weekly
"Fascinating.... [E]xposes what can happen when the tables are turned in an ego-driven marriage, and a husband plays a secondary role next to a successful wife." —Foreword Reviews
"Grażyna Plebanek's tantalising Illegal Liaisons breaks down barriers with its thrilling descriptions of sex and acute observations of life in Brussels where the author resides. A father, husband and a writer caught in a relationship with two women. Need I say more?" —Litro Magazine
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
House husband and aspiring writer Jonathan is married to Magda, a.k.a Megi, and lives with her and their two small children in Brussels, where she has a well-paying government job. Jonathan is also in the middle of a torrid affair with Andrea, which he takes great pains to keep secret. Plebanek's crisp and intelligent new novel is full of pitch-perfect descriptions, mostly but not exclusively about sex, and its contemplation. Jonathan sucks Andrea's fingers "with the instinct of a newborn baby"; even a year into the relationship, "He eagerly awaited their trysts, like a believer awaiting Holy Communion." Everything in the lives of these characters is observed, and judged. Jonathan kisses Megi but doesn't like the taste of her lips. This observational bent continues even in the book's most sexual moments; the reader is not immersed vicariously in the liaisons. They are explained exclusively through Jonathan. He discovers "new depths of erotic imagination" with Andrea, and indeed Plebank favors the erotic encounters over plot details, though Jonathan is finally tasked with choosing between the two women. A merciless comedy of modern manners, and the politics of desire.
