Gargan, a tightrope walker, repeats a ceremonial act of self-mutilation as he travels across Europe in pursuit of an elusive Yugoslavian waitress. Meanwhile in Paris, Adam, an impoverished actor, is gradually bullied out of his identity. Like the wire that divides Gargan's vision, both men's lives drift between fantasy and reality, a process at once drawing them together and tearing them apart.
'Excellent, odd first novel'
Roz Kaveney, TLS
'A really disturbing piece of powerful fiction... Royle keeps the pages turning'
Lois Rathbone, Times
'Complex and thrilling right to the very last page'
Maaike Molhuysen, Strictly
'The final twist is as deadly as the bitter route it takes to get there.
Counterparts, Royle's first novel, is a dazzling debut'
Jo Knowsley, Maxim
'As original a work as anything to be found in the far reaches of the experimental or the post-modern, but without sacrificing lucidity... We can only wait to see how his singular talents evolve from here. Who can guess what his second novel will be like? Only one thing is certain: it will be far from ordinary'
Roger Keen, Critical Wave
'Written with wiry control'
Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
'[Royle's] cool, steady prose sets a tone between Pinter and Derek Raymond'
Christopher Fowler, Time Out
'Enormously accomplished and ambitious'
Jonathan Coe, Guardian
:: Thursday, February 28, 2002 ::
Counterparts is out of print for the time being, but there are always a few copies of the US edition available via
abebooks.com. Alternatively, the
author has copies of the Penguin edition.
...
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