The Bishop's Bedroom
By Piero Chiara
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
"Piero Chiara’s novel is at once a murder mystery and a lyrical study of desire, greed, and deception. The ending is simply stunning."
—André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name
Summer 1946. World War Two has just come to an end and there’s a yearning for renewal. A man in his thirties is sailing on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, hoping to put off the inevitable return to work. Dropping anchor in a small, fashionable port, he meets the enigmatic owner of a nearby villa who invites him home for dinner with his older wife and beautiful widowed sister-in-law. The sailor is intrigued by the elegant waterside mansion, staffed with servants and imbued with mystery, and stays in a guest room previously occupied by a now deceased bishop related to his host. The two men form an uneasy bond, recognizing in each other a shared taste for idling and erotic adventure. They soon set sail together, encountering old flames and making new conquests. But tragedy puts an abrupt halt to their revels and shatters the tranquility of the villa. What really happened on the dock? And who was the figure glimpsed cycling around the shore in the dark? A sultry, stylish psychological thriller executed with supreme literary finesse.
Piero Chiara
Piero Chiara (1913-1986) was a leading Italian author of the twentieth century who won over a dozen literary prizes and whose work is marked by psychological depth, melancholy humor, and a grasp of the essence of everyday life. The Bishop’s Bedroom is the most celebrated of his many acclaimed novels.
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Reviews for The Bishop's Bedroom
39 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The prose is beautiful and say to read. Recommended read
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5This is seriously a terrible book. Over 50 pages in and it has ONLY consisted of two men trying to have as many one night stands as possible. The author barely bothers to name the women let alone give them any meaning - only if they or did they not agree to a sexual encounter with the protagonist. This is not a book for anyone who wants an interesting read, let alone any women because they clearly have no place in this book.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5just a collection of the girls the narrator did and did not sleep with, with two predictable deaths along the way
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Did not live up to it's hype. I kept wondering when the story would begin but it never took off. About the meanderings of a man who lives on a boat visiting ports in Italy and a family that he becomes involved with. The protagonist is a tawdry little liar of a man. Why the main character chooses to hang with him I can't imagine because he is ill-treated by this fellow. The protagonist murders his own wife in order to have multiple affairs. There is no mystery here as to the death of the wife. Upon finishing this book you will want to take a bath.
4 people found this helpful