No tomorrow =
Subtitle: Point de lendemain
By: Vivant Denon ; translated from the French by Lydia Davis ; introduction by Peter Brooks.
Contributors: Davis, Lydia, 1947-
Series: New York Review Books classics; New York Review Books classics
Publisher: New York Review Books; New York Review of Books; NYRB Classics
Published: 2009
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng; fre
Number of pages: 63
ISBN-13: 9781590173268
Subjects: France -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Genres: Fiction
Work titles: Point de lendemain.
Description: Point de lendemain (No Tomorrow) is the English translation of a French 18th century masterpiece, Point de Lendemain by Dominique Vivant Denon. Written in 1777 and re-edited in 1812, Point de Lendemain is a record of the initiation of a young man and a member of a secret society. Giovanna Summerfield's preface and notes will offer a new way of reading Point de Lendemain, marginalizing the triviality of sex and the love triangle, which has been thus far seen as a physical need rather than as an expression of supremacy and challenge of God. This tale of seduction is itself a seduction, with a plot that could be said to slowly unveil itself before arriving at last at an unexpected consummation. Summoned by Madame de T---- to her country house, the young hero of Denon's novella is taken on a tour of the grounds, only the beginning of a night that not only will be full of unanticipated delights but will give rise to unforeseen, perhaps unanswerable, questions. Lydia Davis's definitive translation of Denon's slim masterpiece is accompanied by the French text. Peter Brooks's illuminating introduction explores the mysteries of "No Tomorrow"'s original publication and the subtleties of Denon's ethics of pleasure.
Notes: Text in English and French.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: No tomorrow; title: Point de lendemain.