{"product_id":"9780802162526","title":"The Possessed","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom “a master of\nverbal burlesque [and] a connoisseur of psychological blackmail” (John Updike),\nWitold Gombrowicz’s harrowing and hilarious pastiche of the Gothic novel, now\nin a new, authoritative English translation \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN\"\u003eWitold Gombrowicz is considered by\nmany to be Poland’s greatest modernist, and in \u003ci\u003eThe Possessed\u003c\/i\u003e, he\ndemonstrates his playful brilliance and astonishing range by using the familiar\ntropes of the Gothic novel to produce a darkly funny and lively subversion of\nthe form. With dreams of escaping his small-town existence and the limitations\nof his class, a young tennis coach travels to the heart of the Polish\ncountryside to train Maja Ochołowska, a beautiful and promising player whose\nbourgeois family has fallen upon difficult circumstances. Yet as Maja and the\nyoung man are alternately drawn to and repulsed by the other, they find\nthemselves embroiled in the fantastic happenings taking place at the\ndilapidated castle nearby, where a mad prince haunts the halls, and bewitched\ntowels, conniving secretaries, famous clairvoyants, and uncanny doubles conspire\nto determine the fate of the lovers. Serialized first in Poland in the days\npreceding the Nazi invasion, and now translated directly into English for the\nfirst time by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, \u003ci\u003eThe Possessed\u003c\/i\u003e is a comic jewel, a\nhair-raising thriller, and a provocative early masterpiece from the acclaimed\nauthor of classics like \u003ci\u003ePornografia \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eCosmos\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Witold Gombrowicz","offers":[{"title":"Grove\/Atlantic |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2024-03-29","offer_id":44414010622207,"sku":"9780802162526","price":25.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_11660c0c-bcd4-4676-9b7f-0609f7235f59.jpg?v=1697660937","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780802162526","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}