Product Description

A brutal killer, inspired by the Belgian artist Paul Delvaux, leaves each of his victims posed as if in a painting. Meanwhile cult film director Johnny Vos is making a low-budget biopic about the same artist. He hires women from Antwerp?s red light district and from an internet voyeur house as extras in order to recreate the poses of Delvaux?s famous sleepwalking nudes. When two prostitutes end up murdered, English film critic Frank Warner, in town to interview Vos, turns investigative journalist and becomes personally involved when his own girlfriend goes missing. In the search for the killer, everyone is implicated. Simultaneously macabre and erotic, Antwerp will not release you until its final page has turned.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62691 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
"'A gory but erotic thriller... This is a chilling and exhilarating read' Observer 'Beautifully written... a mesmerising blend of surrealism, satire and thriller... a fictional answer to the strangest art-house noir' Independent 'Antwerp is lit expressionistically, with a palette that combines the vulgar neons of the city's red light district with a silver nitrate glow. Cinema-going has clearly equipped Royle with a keen understanding of the mechanics of voyeurism, and he repays the debt by imitating the grammar of cinema' Independent on Sunday"

Zembla
'Antwerp shows Royle at the top of his game, a master of the literary thriller'

Jack
'A trip into a world of sleaze and surrealism that will have you wiping your hands on your trousers'

Customer Reviews

what more do you want from a book?
Nicholas Royle has pulled off an enviable feat with "Antwerp", constructing an intelligent, richly-detailed slice of literature that works as a fast-paced, grimly-fiendish thriller whilst also engaging as a vibrant dissemination on life -v- art and the interconnections inbetween.

Royle's prose is elegant and flawless, his descriptions of the city are spot-on, and his handling of plot and tension is both intricate and gripping. Whilst readers of his previous books will note familiar threads (abandoned buildings, the surrealist artist Paul Delvaux, abducted girlfriends - and indeed, "Antwerp" is a loose sequel to "The Directors Cut"), all these familiarities engage in such a way that it feels the previous novels have been building blocks to this one. For previous Royle readers the shared experience creates a multi-layered book from a multi-layered author.

Unequivocably recommended.

Royle's Masterpiece
Only Nicholas Royle can take you to a world more seedy than you've experienced, and make it a beauitful place. He manages to be entertaining without being flippant, and renders characters who are, at times, frighteningly real. His best book by far, and that's saying something.

why isn't this author hugely well known and a bestseller?
I endorse the other reviews. This is a beautifully written book and deserves a blockbuster-sized audience. It has all the elements of a first rate crime novel but it's so much better written than most in this genre. I'm told that the sequel to this one, 'Rotterdam'is out next year. Can't wait. It should sell millions.