Lee Langley

Dangerous liaisons: Bad Eminence, by James Greer, reviewed

The life of a celebrated translator becomes a nightmare of sadistic games in this erudite novel masquerading as an action thriller

James Greer and Vanessa Salomon. [Thomas Early] 
issue 02 July 2022

Vanessa Salomon is an internationally successful translator. Clever, beautiful, privileged – ‘born in a trilingual household: French, English and money’ – she can indulge herself professionally with obscure, neglected books. About to embark on a forgotten nouveau roman by Alain Robbe-Grillet, she’s offered an irresistible assignment. A bestselling French novelist who is definitely not Michel Houellebecq wants to pay her an extravagant fee to translate his next book – before he’s written it.

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