Book summary

In the title novella, a suicidal soprano named Catherine Courage is haunted by the demands of her colleagues, an unsatisfactory marriage, and a mysterious presence at a Belgian chateau where, with her renowned a cappella vocal quintet, she is rehearsing a new piece. In THE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE STEPS, an eerie discovery on an archeological dig merges with a lonely, war-maimed young woman's much more modern fear of a terrifying death that visits her in much too frequent nightmares. And in THE FAHRENHEIT TWINS, a twin brother and sister raised in the Arctic are faced with the grim task of disposing of their dead mother's body in an epic trek over the frozen land via dog sled. Michel Faber, author of THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, specializes in the creation of characters and milieus that are highly unusual and yet vividly realistic.

Media reviews

"[T]hree fine novellas, further evidence of the wide-ranging imagination, ironic humor and incisive characterization Faber displayed in THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE....[R]eaders will again be immersed in the intense worlds he creates."