A feverish classic from one of the modern masters of French prose. No one can keep up with Pierre Niox, the speediest antiques dealer in Paris, although not necessarily the most competent. As he dashes about at a dizzying pace, his impatience becomes too much to bear for those around him; his manservant, his only friend and even his cat abandon him. He begins to find that while he is racing through life, it is passing him by. However, when he falls in love with the languid, unpunctual Hedwige, the man in a hurry has to learn how to slow down...'Probably the best French writer of the twentieth century after Proust and Celine' Philippe Sollers ' Morand was the all-round aesthete.' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian 'Admired both by Ezra Pound and by Marcel Proust as a pioneer craftsman of Modernist French prose (...) The sheer shapeliness of his prose recalls Hemingway; the urbanity of his self-destructiveness compares with Fitzgerald's; and his camera eye is as lucidly stroboscopic as that of Dos Passos' The New York Times This feverish classic by one of the modern masters of French prose is a witty and touching parable for our busy times.

Author Biography

Paul Morand was born in Paris in 1888. After studying at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques he joined the diplomatic corps, serving in London, Rome, Berne and Bucharest. Tender Shoots , his first collection of stories, was introduced by Marcel Proust. In a long and busy life, he found time to write poetry, novels, short stories and travel books. Morand was made a member of the Academie Francaise in 1963 and died in 1976. His books Hecate and Her Dogs, Tender Shoots, Venices and The Allure of Chanel are also published by Pushkin Press. Born in Paris in 1919, Michel Deon is the author of more than 50 works of fiction and non-fiction, including The Foundling Boy. A member of the Academie francaise, he lives in Ireland.