Betrayals

"A PURE SEDUCTIVE, ALMOST SENSUAL, READ."
--New York Observer
"An obituary tells of a Scottish scientist dying; travelers tell tales to while away the time, then one dies mysteriously; a publisher's reader reports on a trashy story; an academic scandal is hashed over; an avid television watcher offers up his diary. Then names start recurring, similar situations are alluded to. Thus does the author of The Quincunx build up this story of betrayals. . . . Palliser uses stories within stories, black humor, and parody to make it all work."
--Dallas Morning News
"RICHLY HILARIOUS . . . These seemingly diverse narratives--at first glance, about completely unrelated subjects--are filled with hidden connections."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Ingenious in the highest degree. . . Some of the book will make the reader laugh out loud; some will make him shudder. Palliser has a wicked eye, an ear that misses nothing, and a virtuoso dirty mind. . . . In each story someone becomes obsessed with a rival and plots his destruction only to become caught in a trap of his own devising; the scorpion perishes from his own sting."
--The Boston Globe
"A THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND WONDERFUL NOVEL. . . Let us hope that Charles Palliser carries on his idiosyncratic career by defying all expectations save one--that he continue to produce novels reflecting his exceptional knowledge and creativity."
--The Washington Post Book World
"FIENDISHLY CLEVER."
--San Francisco Chronicle