Pusula

Compass Book Description

On a Vienna night, suffering from insomnia Musicologist Franz Ritter is writhing in his bed with an illness of unknown origin, going back and forth between memories and dreams. Important moments in his life flash before his eyes: the magic of the Middle East; What he experienced during his trips to Istanbul, Aleppo, Damascus and Tehran; Memories of various writers, painters, musicians, Orientalists and researchers remain in his mind. But at the center of it all is his unrequited love for a mysterious and elusive woman, Sarah, an insightful and brilliant French academic caught in the intricate tension between Europe and the Middle East.

Mathias Énard was awarded the Leipzig Prize as well as the 2015 Goncourt Prize. Pusula, which won awards such as the Book Fair Award (Germany) and Premio Gregor von Rezzori (Italy), is full of anecdotes about 19th century musicians, esoteric Orientalists, people from literature and history such as Balzac, Agatha Christie, Pessoa, Hayyam, Sâdık Hidâyet, as if they were independent from each other. An extraordinary text that establishes incredible connections and bridges between visible elements.

“Énard's most comprehensive and competent book. One of the most masterful examples of the European novel in the recent past.”

Adrian Nathan West, Literary Review

“An extraordinary, evasive, extraordinary love letter to Middle Eastern art and culture.”

Dustin Illingworth, Los Angeles Review of Books

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type:2. Dough

Size: 12.5 x 19.5

First Printing Year: 2019

Number of Prints:1. Printing