Envy

by Alain Elkann, Alastair McEwen (Translation)

Envy is an emotion that grows slowly. Thanks to a series of fortuitous encounters and circumstances, a writer falls victim to an obsessive curiosity about a famous artist Julian Sax. He would like to meet Sax, but the great painter is surrounded by an almost impenetrable protective screen. The writer’s wife, the charming and sensuous Rossa, eventually takes him to Tony’s tea room in London, where Sax spends a few hours of each day, accompanied by his children, models and friends. The narrator begins to fear that his wife Rossa might succumb to the charm of this seductive man who attracts women, paints them and then discards them. In an unpredictable sequence of events, Elkann weaves a fascinating web, blending reality and fiction and drawing the reader into the lives of characters who will prove hard to forget.

Genres: Fiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Alain Elkann è nato a New York nel 1950. Nei Tascabili Bompiani sono disponibili Montagne russe, Il tuffo, Piazza Carignano, Stella Oceanis, Boulevard de Sébastopol e altri racconti, Il padre francese, Rotocalco, John Star (Premio Cesare Pavese 2002), Delitto a Capri, Una lunga estate (Premio Internazionale Tarquinia - Cardarelli 2003), MoMo, Mitzvà, Vita di Moravia, Emma, intervista a una bambina di undici anni, L’invidia (Premio Letterario Mondello - Città di Palermo 2006), L’intervista 1989 - 2009, L’equivoco (Premio Acqui Terme 2009), Diario verosimile, Nonna Carla e Hotel Locarno. Nel 2014 è uscito, sempre presso Bompiani, il volume Racconti. Per la trilogia Essere ebreo, Cambiare il cuore, Essere Musulmano ha vinto il Premio Capalbio 2005.

Reviews

[Elisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

长袖善舞广交声气的二流作家蓦然发现身边每个人都能和一位放荡任性的大牌画家扯上关系除了他自己。他构思了一部小说杀死对方，最终明白他的人物做不到……作者的贫乏和他意识到的故事本身可写的东西（艺术的力量，虚构和现实，文学和绘画etc）形成鲜明的对比。

[Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alain Elkann has, in the last thirty years, published over twenty books spanning essays, biography, and fiction. Envy (2006) is the first, as far as I’m aware, of his works to be translated into English and given that much of its action takes place in London, it may well have made itself a prime candidate for introducing him to an English speaking audience. That it’s central concern, as implied by the title, is a universal one probably helped too. And being published in the’ Pushkin Modern range ensures the container is as good as the content.

Read my full review here

[sdv duras · Rating 3 out of 5]

having had on the shelves for a few weeks finally i begin to read