Under the Poppy
-
- $5.99
Publisher Description
"Koja can pack a lot Dickensian humor into a sentence."—The Plain Dealer
Under the Poppy is a brothel owned by Decca and Rupert. Decca is in love with Rupert but he in turn is in love with her brother, Istvan. When Istvan comes back to town, louche puppet troupe in tow, the lines of their age-old desires intersect against a backdrop of approaching war.
Hearts are broken when old betrayals and new alliances—not just their own—take shape, as the townsmen seek refuge from the onslaught of history by watching the girls of the Poppy cavort onstage with Istvan’s naughty puppets.
When the war gets too close, Istvan and Rupert abandon the Poppy and find a place in high society where they try to avoid becoming more than puppets themselves in the hands of those they have helped before and who now want to use them again.
From its explosive beginning to the final climax, Under the Poppy is a vivid, sexy, behind-the-scenes historical novel as delicious and intoxicating as the best guilty pleasure.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The latest from Koja (Skin) is a page turner with riveting language and close attention to sensory detail. Set in late 19th-century Brussels, the story follows the adventures of puppeteer Istvan and brothel owner Rupert who bond as friends and lovers. The first half of the novel is set at Rupert's brothel, Under the Poppy, a haven for bawdy puppet shows and loose women. With war in the air, the brothel is forced to house soldiers led by a corrupt general. A mysterious assault on Rupert leads to more violence and an exodus of prostitutes from the establishment. Istvan and Rupert, with one of the former working girls, who morphs into a theater owner and puppeteer, leave as well and arrive in a new town, where they cavort with a family of aristocrats that includes Isobel, who falls for Rupert (as does her young brother, Benjamin, the family heir). Koja's style is unconventional, resulting in a melodrama with deep insights into character and a murky plot balanced with prose as theatrical as the world it portrays.
