Necessary Angel - Softcover

"Stead is a fine writer, intelligent and assured, and The Necessary Angel's stealthy crescendo will leave the reader gasping." --Spectator

"A fictional gem." --Sunday Times

"Masterfully structured." --Financial Times

"Stead captures the essence of Paris, its certainties and its contradictions, while simultaneously invoking the power of literature to alter and direct lives." --Country & Town House

"His prose is good, beguilingly good . . . It's an entertainment, but in the best sense of the word--clever, rich and playful." --Spinoff

"For anyone who enjoys literature, it's a delight to find a book that does the same." --North & South

"Paris suits Stead. There is a joie de vivre to the writing: the zest and juice of the short stories are sustained at novel length, making this his best novel since All Visitors Ashore." --New Zealand Listener

Award-winning author C.K. Stead takes us to the heart of contemporary Paris and into a world of books and witty conversation. The Necessary Angel is a story of people grappling with love and fidelity; a story about the importance of books; a commentary on living in complex modern-day Europe; and a page-turning mystery. With a surprising twist at the end, this is a sophisticated novel that shows Stead writing at the height of his powers.