The Angelic Game

by Lawrence Osborne

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Lawrence Osborne is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels, including The Forgiven (now a major motion picture starring Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain), and Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel, a New York Times Notable Book and nominated for an Edgar Award, as well as six books of nonfiction, including Bangkok Days. He has led a nomadic life, living in Paris, New York, Mexico, and Istanbul, and he currently resides in Bangkok.

Reviews

[Cleanthes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across The Angelic Game in a New Zealand second-hand shop — a rare and delightful find, as it’s long out of print. As a devoted fan of Lawrence Osborne, I’ve always wanted to track down his earlier works, before he became the celebrated bestselling author of today. This is, I believe, his second novel after Ania Malina (which I also loved), and it shares similar themes: a chaotic mid-20th century Europe, a young female protagonist caught up as a plaything in the turbulence, and Osborne’s trademark blend of darkness and wit.
I adored this book. It’s laugh-out-loud funny in places and gleefully grotesque in others. Osborne populates his story with an unforgettable cast: an horologist crafting erotic cuckoo clocks, a clothing manufacturer moonlighting as a serial killer with a penchant for collecting ears, an arms dealer losing his grip on reality even as he reshapes history, and an anarchist turned bestselling pornographer. And then there’s the numerous oddball Italian fascists — the cherry on top of this bizarre, delicious confection.
What’s not to like? The Angelic Game is a heady, eccentric romp through a Europe teetering on collapse, filtered through Osborne’s sharp, satirical lens. For fans of his later, more restrained novels, this early work shows just how fearless and imaginative he was from the beginning.