THE RED ROOM

by Francoise Mallet-Joris ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 10, 1956

The sequel to this Flemish writer's earlier The Illusions (1952) continues the conflict between young Helene and Tamara, now her step-mother for two years, when the girl's protective disdain tempts her to make off with an admirer of Tamara and take him for her first lover. Helene finds a redoubtable for in Delfau, who has come to Gers to stage a performance at the Grand Theatre as part of her father's campaign for mayor, for he recognizes her need to be seduced, her driving renunciation of tenderness and vulnerable emotions, her obsession to satisfy only desire. And so the ""red room"" which they rent comes to a be a part of their violent affaire while Tamara fumes and Helen's father achieves his ambition to be burgomaster, while the carnival and the town are only a necessary part of Helen's education in the abnegation of love. For she is caught in her own trap and is strong enough to refuse the chance to marry Delfau and wise enough to know what she has lost. A sensitive exploration of emotional experimentation, this is for the worldly and not the innocent.

Pub Date: July 10, 1956

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1956

Categories: FICTION