Quartet

by Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys's first novel, a heartbreaking and disturbingly intimate portrayal of an isolated woman in Paris

Set in a superficially romantic, between-wars Paris, Quartet is a poignant tale of a lonely woman. Set against a background of winter-wet streets, Pernod in smoky cafes and cheap hotel rooms with mauve- flowered wallpaper, Marya tries to make something substantial of her life in order to withstand the unreality of her surroundings. Alone, her Polish husband in prison, she is taken up by an English couple who slowly overwhelm her with their passions.

• ISBN10: 0141183926
• ISBN13: 9780141183923
• Publish Date: 3 August 2000 (first published May 1969)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 11 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Penguin Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 176
• Language: English

Reviews

[brokentune]

I got to page 19, and this is where the book left me.
Really it did.

I started Quartet on the plane today.
It was just a short flight but I got chatting to the guy in the seat next to me. He was reading, too, but said he couldn't get into his story even though he tried for the last two weeks while he was offshore.

Anyways, shortly before landing my neighbour proposed we swap books.

So, he now has my copy of Rhys' classic story about a woman on the edge whereas I got Tom Clancy's [b:Locked On|12687461|Locked On (Jack Ryan Jr., #3)|Tom Clancy|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348666832s/12687461.jpg|17884037].

Ah well...