Books by Madeleine Bourdouxhe

Enchanting stories of women''s inner lives by the rediscovered Belgian author Madeleine BourdouxheThe seven stories in A Nail, A Rose confirm Madeleine Bourdouxhe''s status as an under-appreciated master of the form. Like her critically lauded novels Marie and La Femme de Giles, these stories tunnel into the conflicted hearts of their female characters in fluid, beautiful prose. These are stories of longing and dissatisfaction, of mundane lives ruptured by strange currents of feeling. A woman, wandering alone and heartbroken, is first attacked and then romantically pursued by a stranger, who returns to her house to offer her gifts. A maid wears her mistress''s expensive coat to meet her lover, but finds herself more preoccupied with fantasies of intimacy with her mistress. With piercing insight and candour, Bourdouxhe offers seven unforgettable portraits of the expansive inner lives of ordinary women.

Marie is enjoying life. She has a husband, whom she adores with every ounce of her being (and who equally adores her), and she's easily pleased by the smaller things in life - the drag of a cigarette, a hotel balcony, the scattering of light across the surface of the sea. While on holiday, Marie spots a young man lying on the beach and is instantly drawn to him. Their connection develops into a passionate and intense love affair, opening a window into Marie's untapped desires. As she explores the vibrant immediacy of her yearnings, Marie begins to see her entire world anew. Set among the bustling train stations and narrow rues of 1940s Paris, Marie is a hypnotically powerful and life-affirming novel detailing the interior life of a 20th century woman - with exquisitely crafted moments of sensual acuity and profound insight. 'A short, intense novel, suffused with tenderness, humour and sensuality. . . . mixing passion and politi as its existentialist heroine embarks on a desire fuelled route of living at full-tilt.' - Michele Roberts 'Exquisite, quiet, elegant, disciplined and nonsentimental . . . Bourdouxhe conveys the sharp, almost physical intensity of thought as experienced by a central character suspended between apathy and restless curiosity.' - Irish Times 'Bourdouxhe was a writer admired by her contemporary Simone de Beauvoir. It is easy to see why: female autonomy, a delight in Paris and its freedoms, the rapture of living in the present and seizing life with both hands . . . luminous.' - Times Educational Supplement 'An unforgettable, thrilling achievement . . . stakes a claim to Bourdouxhe's rightful position alongside Proust and Virginia Woolf as an explorer of interior life . . . inspiring and impassioned.' - Sunday Times