A Sight for Sore Eyes
A standalone novel published by Hutchinson in 1998
Perfect beauty takes many blinding guises in A Sight for Sore Eyes, a suspense novel that is itself a flawless piece of craftsmanship. But to the tormented characters who obsessively pursue their objects of desire—including a redheaded woman, a mint-condition Edsel and the reflection of the beholder’s own face in the mirror—the worship of beauty leads directly to murder and madness.
In Ruth Rendell’s dark and contemporary universe, innocent dreams can turn into terrible nightmares. Teddy Brex emerges from a loveless, isolated childhood as a handsome but autistic young man.
Francine Hill, who has been traumatized by the murder of her mother, grows into a beautiful young woman but must endure the over-protectiveness of an increasingly obsessive stepmother.
Notes
Inquiétudes a film directed by Gilles Bourdos in 2003.
Teddy Brex returns in The Vault.
Baroness Rendell’s first contribution to the House of Lords debate on female genital mutilation in 1998.
Contemporary Reads 2
Karin Fossum - When the Devil Holds the Candle
Denise Mina - Garnethill
Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet
Jo Nesbø - Cockroaches
Sebastian Faulks - Charlotte Gray
Michael Cunningham - The Hours
Footnotes
New York Times 1999. ↩︎
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