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Riverhead Hardcover
April 2008
On Sale: April 17, 2008
320 pages
ISBN: 1594489904
EAN: 9781594489907
Hardcover
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Fiction
A stunningly original novel of literary obsession and
imagination that is sure to be one of the most highly
anticipated debuts of the year.
From a
precociously talented young writer already widely admired in
the literary world, The Mayor’s Tongue is a bold,
vertiginous debut novel that unfolds in two complementary
narratives, one following a young man and the other an old
man. The young man is Eugene Brentani, aflame with a passion
for literature and language, and a devotee of the reclusive
author and adventurer Constance Eakins, now living in Italy.
The old man is Mr. Schmitz, whose wife is dying, and,
confused and terrified, he longs to confide in his dear
friend Rutherford. But Rutherford has disappeared, and his
letters, postmarked from Italy, become more and more ominous
as the weeks pass.
In separate but resonating story
lines, both men’s adventures take them from New York City to
the mountainous borderlands of northern Italy, where the
line between reality and imagination begins to blur and
stories take on a life of their own. Here, we are immersed
in Rich’s vivid, enchanting world full of captivating
characters— the despairing Enzo, who wanders looking for a
nameless love; the tiny, doll-like guide, Lang; and the
grotesque Eakins. Over this strange, spectral landscape
looms the Mayor, a mythic and monstrous figure considered a
“beautiful creator” by his townspeople, whose pull
ultimately becomes irresistible.
From a young writer
of exceptional promise, this refreshingly original novel is
a meditation on the frustrations of love, the madness of
mayors, the failings of language, and the transformative
powers of storytelling.
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