The Victoria System

Description

A story of sex, capitalism, power and deception - told through the twists and turns of an erotic obsession David Kolski is in charge of the construction of a huge Paris tower block, and the pressure is crushing him. But then he meets Victoria - a high-powered and ruthless executive by day and insatiable sensualist by night. David's hard-headed new lover gives him a new sense of purpose and renewed energy, but when she offers to use her position to help him in his career, a shadow falls over their affair. Is she capable of helping anyone other than herself? And who are the men in the Audi he keeps seeing, always a few cars behind him?

Born in 1965, Eric Reinhardt is the author of four previous novels and a freelance publisher of art books. He lives and works in Paris. The Victoria System is his first novel to be translated into English. Sam Taylor is the English-language translator of HHhH, by Laurent Binet. He lives in France and the United States.

Erotic, raw, violent and vertiginous . . . We often accuse French writers of navel-gazing and ignoring the world around them, but Eric Reinhardt is one of those who gives the lie to this cliche -- Emmanuel Carrere, author of Limonov Bold, arresting, accomplished, complex, sensual, sexual, intriguing, heady * Le Monde * An ambitious and tragic novel which weaves together sex, power games and imagination. An ultracontemporary anti-fairy tale * Les Inrockuptibles * Part classic, part tragedy, part thriller: Eric Reinhardt merges genres and invokes elusive echoes in this highly contemporary novel of a rare depth * Liberation * Finally, a sexy book written by someone who would appear to have had sex * Dazed & Confused * Those who harp on about the decline or end of literature in France, stuck in its formalism, nihilism or narcissism, are advised to read The Victoria System. It will give them a good wake-up slap * La Quinzaine Litteraire * A fantastic and sensual modern thriller, like nothing I've ever read -- Christian Louboutin Ambitious, complex, sparkling, to be devoured in one sitting * Telerama * Reinhardt is a fine and subtle psychologist . . . with a keen eye for the perverse ways in which capitalism exploits all levels of society and leaves behind smoking ruins. Anyone who begins this book will not quickly put it down * Trouw (The Netherlands) *