Prague: A Novel - Softcover

"'Beautifully constructed... painfully funny... an extraordinarily vibrant picture of a city and a group of people at a moment of delicate, irreversible transition' Guardian 'I found this book warmly nostalgic, a real pleasure' Time Out ***** review 'For my money, Phillips has come about as close to nailing the Nineties Left Bank as tangential can get' New Statesman 'Ingenious... [Phillips] presents [his characters] with a wry generosity and a haunting poignancy to rival his wonderfully subversive wit' New York Times 'Warmly nostalgic, a real pleasure' Time Out ***** review 'Beautifully constructed... painfully funny... the devious machinations of this plot, with its intricate financial and moral transactions, are handled expertly... the characters moving in a velvety cream of detail reminiscent of Nabokov' Guardian 'The various scams, spies and lies that entwine the novel's characters certainly invite readers to contemplate the complexities of desire, subterfuge and satisfaction. Yet the characters are an engaging and witty bunch who will keep you entertained... for my money, Phillips has come about as close to nailing the Nineties Left Bank as tangential can get' The News Statesman 'Heartbreaking... a masterpiece of caustic satire' Los Angeles Times 'Sprawling and champagne-fizzy smart... Terrifically scintillating... The energy of PRAGUE is as wild and giddy as the year it unfolds' Boston Globe 'Phillips remains throughout a witty and acute observer of the mid-twenties search for meaning' Esquire 'Phillips... has a flair for witty dialogue' Wall Street Journal 'Few first novels blaze with such all-knowing poise' People 'Fiendishly clever' Kirkus Reviews 'Prague shimmers with youthful energy' Time Out New York 'Smart, savvy, and admirably ambitious; a writer to watch' San Francisco Chronicle 'A stunning way to crystallize a century and a half of national history... Prague reveals a writer of limitless imagination and admirable wit... An auspicious debut' New York Daily News 'Ingenious... [Phillips] presents [his characters] with a wry generosity and a haunting poignancy to rival his wonderfully subversive wit' New York Times 'The Hemingways of the East bloc are finally here' Time"

A group of American ex-pats en route to adventure, inspiration, or perhaps even history-in-the-making in exotic Prague, somehow get side-tracked and settle instead for the enigmatic city of Budapest. Arriving in Hungary's capital to pursue his elusive brother, journalist John Price finds himself drawn into the din of Budapest's nightclubs, a romance with a secretive young diplomat, the table of an elderly cocktail pianist, and the moody company of a young man obsessed with nostalgia, all in a bid to forget the larger questions that arise in a city still pocked with bullet holes from war and crushed rebellion. With humour, intelligence and masterly prose, Phillips captures the character of his contemporaries and brilliantly renders a very weird 'modern' city.