A Tale of Memories and Murder.
John Harper, a successful middle-aged lawyer, has deserted his wife and fled to France with his young secretary, Lucy. But this commonplace tale explodes when they meet their fabulous and fascinating neighbour, Harry Haze.
Who is Harry Haze? Is he the ancient Hungarian emigre he appears to be? Or is he the vampire, traitor, war criminal and murderer he claims as, night after night, he recounts his life story? Such stories seem to be product of an entertaining and overactive imagination, except that with every elaborate yarn he spins, Harry produces the evidence from his carpet bag that proves it to be true. And there is something sinister about Harry's glamour, particularly when events take a dark twist and Lucy disappears in very peculiar circumstances . . .
'Recherche' is a brilliantly conceived web of allusion and illusion. Tenderly evocative yet wickedly funny, Jim Williams' enchanting foray into a diverse literary past takes the mystery novel in an exciting post modernist direction which explores issues of truth and memory through the complexities of love, loss and the imagination.
