Holiday in a Coma [Paperback]

Frederic Beigbeder (Author), Frank Wynne (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2007

One night in a Parisian nightclub and the aftermath of a marriage provide the stories for these two novels by Frederic Beigbeder, award-winning author of 'Windows on the World'. Both novels, translated into English for the first time here, are narrated by Marc Marronier, a shallow, superficial, rich Parisian who works as an advertising executive, but concentrates much of his energy on frequenting the demimonde of Parisian clubs and bars. It's a world Beigbeder is all too familiar with, and his caustic observations are all the more accurate for it. In 'Holiday in a Coma', Marc Marronier is invited by his old friend, an American DJ, to the opening of a new nightclub called The Shitter (a satirical take on the famous Paris nightclub, Les Bains Douche). Taking place over a single unforgettable night, the novel documents everything from the pit-bull bouncer on the door, to the drugs, cocktails and wannabes who frequent the club. Marc has set his sights on seducing a catwak model -- any one will do -- and is trying to keep a clear head while all around are paying good money to lose theirs. A catalogue of degeneracy, drugs, sex and decibels, 'Holiday in a Coma' is written with a fury and passion that reflect the author's own relationship with a world and he both loves and loathes. In 'Love Lasts Three Years', our hero Marc has just been divorced and -- shallow opportunist that he is -- has decided to write a book about it. He has a theory that love lasts no more than three years, and here -- while recounting the highs and lows of his marriage and taking us through brash nightclubs, vainglorious offices and soulless designer apartments -- he brings to bear the theoretical and the empirical to prove his point. Both frightening and funny, the book reads like a diary: sometimes tender and real, sometimes fantastical and cruel, peppered with Beigbeder's acerbic one-liners and trademark wit.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Beigbeder may be a show off, but he is also a stylist of considerable talent!"Holiday in a Coma" reminds me of early Martin Amis -- specifically the torture-filled, drug-riddled "Dead Babies"!In its subtle way, "Love Last Three Years" is just as artful as its predecessor. Narrated in the first person, Marc's candid description of being in love is so fresh that we almost feel his roiling emotions first hand. This is a difficult trick to pull off, but Beigbeder manages it magnificently.' Daily Telegraph Praise for 'Windows on the World': 'One can only admire [the authors] bravery in tackling this subject.' The Times 'Thoughtful, self-deprecating, despairing, funny, infuriating and moving, while never undercutting or cheapening the horror of the doomed family.' Daily Telegraph 'Powerful!the combination of banality and panic is quietly devastating. Affecting and disconcerting' Financial Times 'A remarkable novel.' Mail on Sunday 'Beigbeder has set himself a mammoth task. Foreknowledge of the outcome removes any narrative tension and reality has outstripped fiction. Given these constraints, the author is remarkably successful.' Sunday Express --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Frederic Beigbeder was born in 1965 and lives in Paris. He works as a publisher, literary critic and broadcaster. His novel 'Windows on the World' won the 2005 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Fourth Estate (January 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007228147
• ISBN-13: 978-0007228140
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds

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