In Search of Love and Beauty (Paperback, New Ed)

A topiary of eccentric and faintly unpleasant beings blighted by passion: Indian author Jhabvala's first novel with an American setting. Calling the tune for a number of exquisite contemporary Manhattanites is Leo Kellerman, who appeared in the life of central character Louise back in the 1930s - an "undefined genius" who was charming, Adonis-fair, but "plumper and softer than a well-proportioned god had any right to be." After years of thrilling experiment, Leo has found his metier as gum and chief satyr of The Academy of Potential Development, a suburban-manse institute where the paying following strive to "become" persons; in his monk's robe with a studded cowboy belt propping up his corpulence, he lectures on "The Point" of intersection of physical and psychic orgasm. And though he is crude, greedy, and faithless, Louise - a widow who has left her handsome youth to be "tall, stately, draped in dark silk" in her 70s - has been burdened through the years with an often-despairing passion for Leo. Louise recalls the old days - when her daughter Marietta hid as a child to watch the naked Louise and Leo "pounding and capering through the salon." There are glimpses, too, of Marietta's own passion-hounded life: her serene interval, living with Indian Ahmed - thin, grizzled, and gentle; her possessive passion for son Mark (sired by dead, alcoholic ex-husband Tim), who's often miserable over homosexual affairs. The only one not hopping on passion's griddle, in fact, is Marietta's adopted daughter Natasha - a deep pool of passivity, with a child-like adoration of Mark, who sorrowfully watches all those others. Then a new player enters this cool hot-house atmosphere: young Stephanie, who's working on her "become," and thus willing to be put to the sexual test by Leo (while trying to stifle her laughter); she also sleeps with Academy handyman Jeff. And soon they're all chasing one another by the tail - Leo after Stephanie, Mark and a rival after Mark's young lover (weapons are brandished), Louise eternally waiting for the phone call from Leo, Marietta after Mark - while things finish up with a chase, a dying, and a birthday party. A diverting kaleidoscope of pathos, comedy, and decadence - even if (unlike more sympathetic Jhabvala fiction) the colors fade when the last page is turned. (Kirkus Reviews)

The observant and insightful novel reveals, in rich and poignant detail, the interior lives of three generations of people in their quest for love and beauty.. This observant and insightful novel explores the interior lives of three generations of people on a quest for love and beauty.Louise, not content with her husbands gentle affection, strives to reclaim her youth in titillating spiritual and social adventures. Her daughter Marietta searches for beauty in lofty ideas and in her obsession for her son, Mark, who believes love is to be found in the pursuit of money and young, vacuous lovers. And Leo, their eccentric, self-styled guru, satisfies himself with power--commanding the bodies and souls of his followers.Demonstrating Jhabvalas deft twists of irony and humor, In Search of Love and Beauty brings several lifespans, full of hopes and ideals, within our grasp.

General

Imprint:	Counterpoint
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	April 1999
First published:	June 1999
Authors:	Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Dimensions:	216 x 140 x 17mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	252
Edition:	New Ed
ISBN-13:	978-1-58243-016-4
Categories:	Books > Fiction > General & literary fiction > Modern fiction
LSN:	1-58243-016-0
Barcode:	9781582430164

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