Product Description

This book couples The Butcher, a shocking, poetic, and sensual portrayal of an intense summer love affair, with Reyes' second novella Lucie's Long Voyage, which also features her irresistible blend of sensual earthiness and dreamlike imagery. "Nothing short of staggering . . . an erotic tour de force."--The London Standard.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #726584 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .59" h x 5.62" w x 8.27" l, .51 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

From the Inside Flap
A young Frenchwoman goes to work in a butcher's shop during her college vacation. Every day the butcher whispers obscenities in her ear, describing their imagined lovemaking. And as the summer heat takes hold, so does her lust.

A tremendous sensation when first published in Europe, The Butcher has sold over half a million copies in France alone, was a best-seller in England, and has established Alina Reyes as a major new voice in erotic fiction. Here it is coupled with Reyes's second novella, Lucie's Long Voyage, which also features her irresistible blend of sensual earthiness and the dreamlike imagery of a fractured fairy tale.

"Nothing short of staggering...an erotic tour de force; an exploration of raw sensuality."--The London Standard

"Her depiction of sex has sparked a resurgence of erotica as a lost literary tradition.... The language is as rich as calves' liver."--The Times (London)

"I never knew such goings-on were even possible in a freezer.... This is eroticism on a fantasy level."--Daily Express

"Utterly absolutely sexy.... The Butcher has that crafted, stylised quality...which compels the reader to linger and is another magnificent touch in the explosive build up of sexual tension. Its contents are guaranteed to disturb, unnerve and grip you; you will want to read it again and again."--Literary Review

"Reading Alina Reyes is like inhaling a heady smell--you get quite dizzy but you don't want to stop.... The writing is pure poetry."--Portrait Magazine

"Concentrated, written in hyper-real, attenuated prose, the novel traces the urgency of adolescent desire-sexuality without intellectual brakes, unsullied by memory or experience."--The Independent

"Extraordinary.... I was compelled to read it in one sitting."--Granta

"The narrative thrums with sexual urgency."--Elle

"For its economy of detail and its erotic power it knocks the spots off the heavy-breathing marauders who welcome best-sellers."--The Times Literary Supplement

Alina Reyes was born in 1956 in Soulac in the southwest of France. She left school early, married, but then returned to her studies, completing a master's thesis on the fantasy stories of the nineteenth-century writer Marcel Schwob. While studying she supported herself and her two sons by working as a freelance journalist. Her controversial first novel, The Butcher, was originally written for a competition of erotic writing. This was followed by Lucie's Long Voyage. Reyes is also the author of The Fatal Bodice, When You Love You Must Depart, and Behind Closed Doors. She currently lives in Paris.

Customer Reviews

Poetic Erotica!
This is one of the sexiest books I have ever read. Alina Reyes's language is poetic and erotic at the same time. This isn't your typical romance novel in which the plot is pretty much out on the open; you have to actually read between the lines and figure out what the scene symbolizes. I love the story of a French woman whose innocence is lost during college vacation. She worked at a deli, and the butcher whispered in obscene detail what he would like to do with her. Despite having fallen in love with a male classmate, the young woman is drawn to the butcher. Alina Reyes will take you on an erotic journey that you can't even begin to fathom. As I've mentioned earlier, you have got to figure out what the story symbolizes. This is a great read. With sensuous scenes, beautiful language and poetic undertones, The Butcher is one of the most profound pieces of fiction I have ever read.

Strange and Troubling...
This is a very troubling book. An excellent, sensual read. The tone of it all is so inviting... the kink of book that you read more than once.

the butcher's hands turned the pages of her fantasies.
the book has an odd way of making you feel helpless, annoyed, aroused and fearful all at the same time. i enjoyed the descriptive portions of the story but not the action.