The Fool and Other Moral Tales (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780811227162)

Fairy-tale atmospheres and complex narratives are a hallmark of the fiction of Anne Serre, represented here by three radically heterodox novellas. The Fool "may have stepped out of a tarot pack: I came across this little figure rather late in life. Not being familiar with playing cards, still less with the tarot, I was a bit uncomfortable when I first set eyes on him. I believe in magic figures and distrust them...a figure observing you can turn the world upside down." The Narrator concerns a sort of writer-hero: "Outcasts who can't even tell a story are what you might call dropouts, lunatics, misfits. With them the narrator is in his element, but has one huge advantage: he can tell a story." Little Table, Set Yourself!--a moral tale concerning a family happily polyamorous--is the most overtly a fable of these three works, and the briefest, but thin as a razor is thin. A dream logic rules each of these wildly unpredictable, sensual and surreal novellas: these may be romps, but nevertheless deeply moral and entirely unforgettable ones.

Author: Anne Serre
ISBN-10: 0811227162
ISBN-13: 9780811227162
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Language: English
Published: 09/24/2019
Pages: 228
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.35lbs
Size: 7.20h x 4.40w x 0.50d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2019
Publishers Weekly 07/29/2019