Afternoon of a Faun: A Novel

Afternoon of a Faun: A Novel

by James Lasdun

Narrated by Simon Vance

Unabridged — 4 hours, 5 minutes

Afternoon of a Faun: A Novel

Afternoon of a Faun: A Novel

by James Lasdun

Narrated by Simon Vance

Unabridged — 4 hours, 5 minutes

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Overview

Taut, stylish, and psychologically acute, Afternoon of a Faun dramatizes the search for truth as an accusation of sexual assault plunges a journalist into a series of deepening crises.



When an old flame accuses him of sexual assault in her memoir, expat English journalist Marco Rosedale is brought rapidly and inexorably to the brink of ruin. His reputation and livelihood at stake, Marco confides in a close friend, who finds himself caught between the obligations of friendship and an increasingly urgent desire to uncover the truth. This unnamed friend is drawn, magnetized, into the orbit of the woman at the center of the accusation-and finds his position as the safely detached narrator turning into something more dangerous. Soon, the question of his own complicity becomes impossible to avoid.



Set during the months leading up to Donald Trump's election, with detours into the 1970s, this propulsive novel investigates the very meaning of truth at a time when it feels increasingly malleable. An atmospheric and unsettling drama from a novelist acclaimed as "the literary descendant of Dostoevsky and Patricia Highsmith" (Boston Globe), Afternoon of a Faun combines a sharply observed study of our shifting social mores with a meditation on what makes us believe, or disbelieve, the stories people tell about themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

01/28/2019

In this thought-provoking psychological thriller from Lasdun (The Fall Guy), journalist Marco Rosedale, an English expat living in New York, stands accused of sexual assault from an encounter 40 years earlier. When Rosedale finds out that an old flame has written a memoir that explores the sexual landscape of the 1970s, including details of him raping her in a hotel room, he realizes immediately that if the memoir is published his career will be over and his reputation tarnished forever. Told from the point of view of an old acquaintance of Rosedale’s, who’s unsure of his friend’s proclaimed innocence and attempting to remain objective throughout the ordeal, the story is a powerful social commentary that examines the consequences of such an accusation on both parties. Set in the days just after Trump won the Republican nomination—and referencing disgraced figures including Anthony Weiner and Roger Ailes—this novel comes to a brilliantly ironic conclusion that will leave readers reeling. Mainstream literary fiction readers will appreciate this one as well. Agent: Irene Skolnick, Irene Skolnick Literary. (Apr.)

Library Journal

11/15/2018

A writer of acute sensibility and language, Man Booker long-listed Lasdun (Seven Lies; The Fall Guy) returns with the au courant story of expat English journalist Marco Rosedale, accused of sexual assault in a former lover's memoir. The friend he confides in wants to be supportive, but he also wants to understand what really happened: "The truth might be hard to bring to light, but that didn't mean it didn't exist."

Product Details

BN ID: 2940170244102
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Publication date: 04/09/2019
Edition description: Unabridged
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