Cape May
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Septembre 1957.
Henry et Effie passent leur lune de miel à Cape May, dans le New Jersey. Hors saison, la petite station balnéaire n’offre guère de distractions – si ce n’est la découverte du plaisir –, et le jeune couple ne tarde pas à s’ennuyer. Leur rencontre avec un groupe de New-Yorkais riches et délurés va leur ouvrir les portes d’un monde insoupçonné. Cape May devient alors leur terrain de jeu : ils s’invitent dans des maisons vides, font de la voile, se saoulent au gin et marchent nus sous les étoiles... jusqu’à cette nuit où tout bascule.
Traduit de l’anglais (États-Unis) par Marc Amfreville
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cheek's strong debut is a psychodrama that shows just how easily people can be manipulated. Henry, 20, and Effie, 18, are young, virginal newlyweds from rural Georgia on their honeymoon in Cape May, N.J., in 1957, arriving in the off-season of September, when it's largely deserted. Just kids, they are naive and unprepared for their meeting with three worldly hedonists who introduce them to booze, lust, and sexual obsession. Clara is a free-spirited, wealthy socialite, Max is her bodybuilder lover, and Alma is Max's cunning younger half sister. The trio's bawdy, vulgar drunkenness fascinates the newlyweds, especially Henry, who is charmed by Clara and sexually seduced by Alma. Henry's guilt is quickly rationalized as he carelessly surrenders his conscience to his sexual obsession of Alma. His need is insatiable, but her unreasonable demands force him to make promises he cannot keep. Cheek does a good job with his cast; Henry and Effie are finely drawn and their slide from innocence starkly depicted. The novel's ending is particularly startling a memorable final note in this cogent examination of marital infidelity and betrayal.
