Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love [Paperback]

Dan Rhodes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2002

Erotic, passionate, tragic or doomed, love is above all a game of allusiveness and nuance, of fabulous grotesques and intimate loathings. In this collection, Dan Rhodes takes fables and spins them into suburban romances, twists domestic cosiness into mythical combat. Love for a Vietnamese cellist drives a man to transform himself into her cello; love is found on a council refuse site between an unnamed narrator and the ghostly Maria; the love of The Artist for his female muse consumes him, the search party sent to find him, the villagers who discover his mouldering body -- all eaten by the small creatures of the forest. Against a backdrop reminiscent of Angela Carter with a sense of the emotionally horrid that would quieten even Will Self, Dan Rhodes has produced a spellbinding, haunting collection of timeless tales.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A skinny, unremarkable collection of seven previously published stories from up-and-coming British novelist Rhodes (Timoleon Vieta Come Home) observes the sadly unequal love relationships between adoring men and preoccupied women. Rhodes's characters possess the uncomplicated, pared-down dimensions of archetype, such as the old professor of "The Carolingian Period," who's been intoning the same lecture at the School of Architecture for 30 years and is undone in a moment by a pretty auditor's attention; one sees his regrets coming paragraphs away. "Glass Eyes," set in the forest, feels like a fairy tale: Coquettita, an older witchlike woman who is much experienced in love and has one glass eye, keeps a young naïve lover. As proof of his love, she demands the ghastly removal of his left eyeball, in order to match her own; as he complies, he—surprise—sees her for the first time as she really is. Similarly, "Beautiful Consuela" explores just how much a man in love will take from his beloved: she tests the truth of his feelings by growing hideously fat, unwashed and altogether repulsive, and he remains with her gladly. Rhodes aims for parable and, despite inventiveness, comes closer to pat. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

'Funny and unsettling!Fairy stories written with an elegant simplicity.' Daily Telegraph 'You won't find a finer collection of short stories in the land.' Jockey Slut 'It is brave of Rhodes to buck the trend for realism!the beauty of his writing is persuasive and his themes are universal.' The Times Praise for 'Anthropology': 'They should prescribe this free on the NHS -- it's an absolute gem.' Jenny Colgan 'A hilarious exploration of the challenges faced by the fairer sex.' The Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Pb (June 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841151963
• ISBN-13: 978-1841151960
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,172,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring..., April 19, 2006

By 

Avid Reader (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love (Paperback)

Couldn't even finish this one. Felt no connection with characters and didn't think the story-telling was interest keeping.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tell me the TRUTH about love!, November 18, 2003

By 

Hazel (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love (Paperback)

The many different sides of love: the deep dark side of love, the wild and passionate eroticism and simple pleasures of love unfold in the pages of this fantastic book. A marvel!

Rhodes has a knack at illustrating his characters with words - i was able to form sharp mental pictures of the characters in this collection of 7 short stories.

Though fictitious and surreal, the characters and storyline in this book mirrors real life. A simple yet profound book - page turner in fact... !

5.0 out of 5 stars It was interesting!, November 25, 2011

By 

gep - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Tell Me the Truth About Love (Paperback)

This book was thought provoking. It wasn't anything new, but it told the stories of life love affairs with a fresh perspective. There are manny life lessons to be had/learned from this book. I found it very interesting, Once i picked it up, it was hard to put it down. The author has a good sense of humor. I got it!