The Polyglot Lovers

<p><b>Winner of the 2016 August Prize</b></p><p><em>‘Do you have to stare like that?’ I asked.</em></p><p><em>‘Think about the actors in porn. They’ve got no problem showing themselves off.’</em></p><p><em>‘Think about when I broke your nose,’ I replied.</em></p><p>Ellinor is thirty-six. She wears soft black sweatpants and a Michelin Man jacket. She fights. Smart and unsentimental, she tries her hand at online dating, only to be stranded by a snowstorm with a literary critic. Cut to Max Lamas, an author who dreams of a polyglot lover, a woman who will <em>understand</em> him—in every tongue. His search takes him to Italy, where he befriends a marchesa whose old Roman family is on the brink of ruin. At the heart of this literary intrigue is a handwritten manuscript that leaves no one unaffected.</p><p><em>The Polyglot Lovers</em> is a fiercely witty and nuanced contribution to feminism in the #metoo era. Pleasure is an elusive thing, love even more so.</p><p></p>