World Literature, Fiction Subjects

Kitty and Virgil

Name: Kitty and Virgil
Author: Paul Bailey
ISBN: 9780452282483

by Paul Bailey

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Overview

"Kitty Crozier wakes up in a hospital bed and finds a stranger looking down at her. He smiles at her and walks away. Months later, in London's Green Park, she encounters him again. They speak to each other for the first time, and on a whim she invites him to visit her the following day. So begins the most important, most demanding, most thrilling relationship of Kitty's life." "Her lover is Virgil Florescu, a dissident poet who swam the Danube to escape Ceausescu's Romania to live in London. As their liaison deepens, they discover more about each other's lives and especially about each other's rather complicated fathers: Kitty's father is drop-dead charming and a stunningly accomplished philanderer, and Virgil's had changed political allegiances to ensure his survival. Rich with characters and, despite its profound theme, often fiendishly funny, Kitty and Virgil is above all the story of two extraordinary families and the interweaving of their histories and secrets."--BOOK JACKET.

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Editorials

Washington Post Book World

Crackles with repartee and literary allusion...Compelling.

Library Journal

When Kitty Crozier meets dissident Romanian poet and compulsive storyteller Virgil Florescu in the hospital, love blooms immediately. Their tale is played out against a backdrop of repression and suffering during the Ceausescu regime, Kitty's reunion with her much-married father, and the crumbling marriage of Kitty's twin, Daisy. Virgil's is the sensitive and charming voice in which most of the story is told, and it is the unspeakable family secret that he carries that propels much of the narrative. Fittingly, this memorable and moving novel ends with five poems from Virgil to Kitty, which encapsulate much of what he has told her. Very funny yet deeply tragic, this is a good bet for all libraries, especially where Bailey's prize-winning earlier novels (At the Jerusalem) are known.--Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.