Beat the Devil
Coelho Back in Brazil, Mortier in the Netherlands, And Pleijel Shakes Up Sweden
Brazilian high priest of letters Paulo Coelho has conjured up The Devil and Miss Prym after two years of soul searching, and the result is a half-million-copy catechism that’s been deemed a “parable in which the characters show all the contradictions of the human soul.” Taking on the cosmic themes of Good and Evil, and probing the consequences of human free will, the novel follows the ironically named Miss Prym as she and her Satanic sidekick tempt the righteous citizens of a remote community into breaking a couple of the Ten Commandments. (Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Coelho’s The Alchemist is nearing a million copies sold in the US, 200,000 of those in paperback, according to sources at Harper.) The new book is being simultaneously published in Brazil (Objetiva), Italy (Bompiani), and Portugal (Pergaminho), with numerous other rights sales made to date, while Harper has rights for the UK and will “most probably” publish in the US as well. See Mônica Antunes at the Sant Jordi Asociados agency, which controls rights.
Investigating temptation of a different sort, Erwin Mortier’s novel My Second Skin has hit the list in the Netherlands. Described as an “ode to the awakening human body,” the work follows protagonist Anton Callewijn as he ponders his preoccupation with an older male cousin, and consummates a relationship with classmate Willem. Though it ends on a note of desolation, along the way the novel gives rise to some exceptional prose (Mortier writes of one character: “his long arms had a way of slinging around his rump like the empty sleeves of a coat that didn’t fit”). Mortier’s 1999 novel, Marcel, is said to be a “sharp and at times hilariously ironic picture” concerning a young boy raised by his grandparents in the Flemish countryside. Critics called it a “dream of a debut,” and it won the 2000 Van der Hoogt prize, among other awards. English rights to that one went to Harvill, while other sales were made to Suhrkamp in Germany and Pauvert in France. For rights to the new one, see Gerda van Boom at Meulenhoff.
In Sweden, Majgull Axelsson’s Random Walk is meandering up the list. The book covers three generations of women and is a “sad but breathtaking” story delving into women’s sexual vulnerability and its potentially fatal consequences. The author’s earlier work, April Witch, sold 400,000 copies in Sweden and rights went to 13 countries, including the US, where Random will publish next year. The new book had a 60,000-copy first printing, plus 30,000 for a book club, with rights to Germany (Bertelsmann), the Netherlands (De Geus), Denmark (Lindhardt & Ringhof), and Finland (Werner Söderström). See Inga-Britt Rova at Prisma for rights.
Also in Sweden, Agneta Pleijel’s fifth novel Lord Nevermore has been dubbed “one of the major Swedish novels this autumn” (though it’s not currently in the top 10). With 50,000 copies in print, the book spans the 20th century and a few continents to boot as it follows the friendship of two young Polish men and explores love’s sweet sorrow during World War I. One critic’s appraisal: It “shakes you about a bit.” Pleijel won the Great National Book Award in 1987 for a first novel, He Who Observeth the Wind. The new book has been sold to Denmark, Norway (both Gyldendal), and Germany (Piper). See Agneta Markås at Norstedts.
In France, Camille Laurens hits the charts with In These Arms, a “splendid, smooth-reading literary novel” informed by the author’s interaction with men throughout her life. Laurens’s sixth novel delves into a woman’s relationship with her psychoanalyst, which is played out in a series of portraits of other men in the protagonist’s life. It’s been nominated for the Prix Goncourt, and rights are available from the French Publishers’ Agency. Also in France, Christian Signol’s White Christmases is the first volume in the series Thus Does Man Live, a multigenerational trilogy that will trace the upheavals in the town of Barthelmy over the past century. The first volume kicks off on a family farm at the turn of the century, but World War I soon drags the three children into its stupefying and interminable clutches. See the FPA.
In news from Spain, Pedro del Carril and Sigrid Kraus have acquired 100% of Emecé Editores Spain, and will be publishing under a new imprint, Ediciones Salamandra. All reprints and new titles for Emecé Spain will now be published under the Salamandra logo and trademark. The owners note that the salamander was chosen as a mascot due to its “shrewd and nimble” ability to survive in the most adverse circumstances: “This is the spirit with which we intend to face our future as independent publishers!”
Germany is atwitter about Urs Widmer’s Mother’s Lover, “a homage to a life difficult to live” that explores a woman’s “dumb, obsessive passion” as described by her son. The young, beautiful, and wealthy woman falls for a dazzling but penniless composer who ends up being a famous conductor, while she languishes in destitution, wracked by her obsession with him — which neither he nor anyone else knows about. The work “almost transforms pain into serenity.” See Diogenes for rights. Also in Germany, Walter Moers’ new novel, Hansel & Gretel, has been on the list for more than 10 weeks. Moers’ first novel, The 13 1/2 Lives of Capt’n Bluebear, has been on German lists for 47 weeks and is out in English from Secker & Warburg, and takes place in the same setting as the new one — the zany world of Zamonia, where “headless giants roam deserts made of sugar.” See Annika Balser at Eichborn.
A few notes from Greece: Maira Papathanassopoulou has brewed up The Toxic Compounds of Arsenic, a three-men-plus-one-woman admixture that turns flammable when three male roommates come to terms with the charming presence of Zoe. The author’s 1998 novel, Judas’ Wonderful Kiss, has sold more than 250,000 copies in its Greek-language edition, and rights have been sold to numerous countries, including Spain (Destino), France (Plon), and Sweden (Forum). Rights to the new one are controlled by Patakis Publications. Also in Greece, from the late Freddy Germanos comes The Object, a “shattering read” based on the life of Nikos Zachariadis, who was secretary to the Greek Communist party during the nation’s civil war. The book sold 20,000 copies in two months, and no foreign sales have yet been made; see Sophie Catris at Kastaniotis.
