These four novellas are narrated by a brilliantly distinctive voice telling the stories of an Anglo-Italian Professor of Semiotics undone by his own cleverness; an Irish woman who joins a Tibetan nunnery in India; the old university friends whose party is galvanised by a pugnacious newcomer into a demented Buchanesque mission to restore their hostess's lost humour; and an international lawyer who takes to terrorism in pursuit of a theory. Several Deceptions is clever, funny and a little cruel and introduces a writer of quite remarkable gifts. (19991005)
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Amazon Review
Several Deceptions, Jane Stevenson's first work of fiction, explores the topic of deceit through four quite distinct novellas: "The Island of the Day Before Yesterday"; "Law and Order"; "The Colonel and Judy O'Grady" and "Crossing the Water". The settings are bourgeois, urbane--"Crossing the Water" is country-house farce--often giving the impression of an author "in the know" and playing with that knowledge. "In retrospect, I am strongly inclined to blame the whole thing on Umberto Eco" begins "The Island...", setting the scene for its semiotic indulgence in the well-worn idea of creating a woman's life through archive and story. Nemesis looms, however: the ways in which cleverness can damage, or destroy, itself becoming a central theme of the book. A perennial theme, of course, and that may be why it's easy to get a sense that you've heard, or seen, these stories before: there's a touch of Rope about the brilliance of the University lawyer and his circle in "Law and Order", a cross-dressing twist to "The Colonel and Judy O'Grady", a certain Peter's Friends feel to "Crossing the Water". Recognising the landscape is part of the pleasure of these tales, but it may not be quite enough to sustain a reader's interest through the twists and turns of the plots. --Vicky Lebeau
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
A very enjoyable display of deadly wit given with a relaxed literary confidence. Here is a gossipy, smart, critical, intellectual, high spirited and literate voice (Hal Jensen Times Literary Supplement )
Clever and enjoyable... This is an accomplished first book, and even if Stevenson never writes another word, she is already more than promising (Phil Baker Sunday Times )
What continuously sustains these stories is an unfashionable concept of serious fiction as etnertainment, an art in which the process is as enjoyable as the effects it is designed to produce... Relish the neat professionalism of a smart new act (Jonathan Keates Independent )
Stevenson's careful plotting and attention to detail prove she is a new voice worth listening to (The Times )
Clever and enjoyable... This is an accomplished first book, and even if Stevenson never writes another word, she is already more than promising (Phil Baker Sunday Times )
What continuously sustains these stories is an unfashionable concept of serious fiction as etnertainment, an art in which the process is as enjoyable as the effects it is designed to produce... Relish the neat professionalism of a smart new act (Jonathan Keates Independent )
Stevenson's careful plotting and attention to detail prove she is a new voice worth listening to (The Times )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
A book of four novellas whose settings are widely dispersed across the globe. Each novella seems solidly set (to this reader) in its milieu, despite the fact that the narrator/central character in each are, respectively, an anglo-italian ex-playboy turned academic, an upper-class student from the Netherlands, an Irish woman in a community of Tibetan monks and a dissolute English art historian. Interestingly for a female writer three of these are men: Stevenson doesn't give them all a completely convincing voice but the prose is pellucid and the narrative drive strong. I enjoyed this book greatly and look forward to future works by the same writer.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very well written and enjoyable. The author is a gifted writer whose prose flows transparently and swiftly along; you forget you are reading for a while which is the ultimate art which conceals art. I am halfway through her London Bridges which is equally enjoyable. Minor complaint: Some of the characters are cardboard cliches (e.g. the Sandhurst trained soldier in the last novella in Several Deceptions); an academic's concept of what soldiers are like. If Ms Stevenson can learn to dig a bit more under the surface and avoid parodies she will rise to the first rank of fiction writers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
3 reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
On Several Deceptions, by Jane Stevenson
1 Dec 2000
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Both my husband and I enjoyed this great book, a collection of four novellas. Once you pick it up, it's totally addictive. The stories are compelling and exciting, and often completely hilarious, but there's more to it than just the entertainment value. The writing is quite moving at times and there are some dead-on descriptions of the strange behavior of humans.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uneven in quality
26 Jan 2001
By D. C. Carrad
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Some of these tales are terrific -- clever, well-written, novel, interesting, well-plotted, etc. Some, particularly the last story, are dull and cliche-ridden. Five stars anyway because this is an exciting new voice and you will not be disappointed overall if you buy the book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
FABULOUS NEW AUTHOR!
2 Dec 2002
By Jo Manning
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Here are various manifestations of Jane Stevenson's voice: a lazy former playboy now teaching semiotics at an obscure central Italian college ("The Island of the Day Before Yesterday") who is far, far too clever for his own good; a "good twin" helpless to change the downward spiral of his bad twin's life into homicide ("Law And Order"), a tale set in Holland amongst law students; a lesbian academic writing a dissertation on Tacitus in love with a simple Irish woman turned Tibetan Buddhist ("The Colonel And Judy O'Grady"--yes, the title is a terrific play on that old phrase!); and a young, embittered, alcoholic art historian whose biggest goal in his shadow of a life is to cause problems for his friends ("Crossing The River") and who succeeds none-too-admirably in breaking up the marriage of the woman he was once loved at university. That Stevenson makes all of these characters real and that we can empathize with even the callous Simone of the first story and the sociopathic Oliver of the last story shows the depth and range of her writing skill. These novellas are erudite, compelling, and great fun to read; Stevenson's command of the English language puts her up there with A.S. Byatt and Michael Frayn, perhaps even Iris Murdoch at times. Other reviewers have noted their favorites among this rich offering---I can only add that I enjoyed them all, but that the particular archness of "Crossing The River" made it a gem. An anthology that's hard to put down. Enjoy!
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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