Mrs. Sartoris [Hardcover]

Elke Schmitter (Author), Carol Janeway (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2003

An explosive first novel–Madame Bovary set in modern Germany–about a wife and mother whose failed love affairs have driven her to the edge of sanity, and to a startling attempt at vindication.

After being jilted by a rich boyfriend, Margaret Sartoris, eighteen and heartbroken, throws herself into a comfortable but stifling marriage to Ernst, a war veteran with a penchant for routine and order, who still lives with his mother in a small German village.

It’s not a bad life, considering Margaret’s psychological scars, but neither Ernst’s adoration nor the birth of a daughter can reawaken her frozen emotions. It’s not until she slides into an affair with a married man with whom she plans to run away that her passions are stirred, but these plans are a fantasy that cannot possibly come true. The repercussions nevertheless will explode with unimaginable force in these astonished lives.
A remarkable psychological portrait, an oustanding debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Suppose a reader knew nothing about Flaubert's masterpiece, Madame Bovary. Such an individual would blithely read Schmitter's sleek novel about a provincial postwar German beauty, Margarethe, in a vacuum, relishing the tension of its adulterous sexuality and subtle murder mystery. But Schmitter's seemingly heartless and sensual protagonist is in fact an updated and altered variation on the indelible Emma Bovary. A working woman, Margarethe revels in glamorous clothing and fast cars. On the rebound after the betrayal of a wealthy lover and a subsequent nervous breakdown, she marries a dull and grateful man for status and security. She cares little for his company and evinces scant affection for their daughter, who is so much like her, until events conspire to induce Margarethe not to turn on herself, as Flaubert's suicidal heroine did, but rather on a man who embodies the most sinister sort of sexual power. Schmitter's tale provides a shivery pleasure, but it is merely an intellectual exercise compared to the revolutionary and passionate work it draws on. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Taut and absorbing. . . . This pulsing psychological portrait . . . is hard not to consume in one sitting.” –The New York Times Book Review


“Outstanding. . . . This cool first-person confessional . . . is a study in inner fragility and surface toughness.” –Ali Smith, The Times Literary Supplement

“Subtle. . . . Clear-eyed. . . . It is certainly a pleasure to read such a well-styled, level-headed novel. . . . It deserves success.” –The Guardian

“Riveting. Schmitter has reworked a great novel into a new and unique shape.” –The Boston Globe



From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 143 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; First Edition. states edition (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375411860
• ISBN-13: 978-0375411861
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,070,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, June 2, 2004

By 

Genevieve (Quincy, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Sartoris (Hardcover)

The author's intelligence and honesty are obvious, and the style of writing flows;it moves right along. I think many can relate to this story, women in particular, and though you may not relate to it in every way, it's definitely interesting. I will be looking for more books by Elke Schmitter.

3.0 out of 5 stars Mrs Sartoris - Not the Average Housewife Next Door, April 21, 2006

By 

Simon Drake "www.simondrake.com - www.thearto... (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Sartoris (Paperback)

Mrs Sartoris's confessional chilled me to the bone partly because reading it was a learning experience about the tactful mind of a dutiful housewife, how she exacts her revenge on the world, and how she does something macabre to protect someone that precociously doesn't want her. I couldn't have bought the book myself, I found it discarded by my girlfriend (after she'd speedily read it) and I never through of reading it (I though it was Euro-Chick-Lit) but once I started, I couldn't put it down!