A novel about Henry, a successful writer whose latest book has been rejected by publishers. He moves to a new city and begins a quiet life, until he receives a letter from a man asking for help with a play. The play features two animals, Beatrice and Virgil, who talk together while facing a terrible situation. Henry is drawn into a strange friendship with the playwright. The book is a short, unsettling fable about how art can speak about the Holocaust and other great suffering, and about the limits of language when facing atrocity.
Quotes
An apple resists being eaten. An apple is not eaten, it is conquered. The crunchiness of a pear is far more appealing. It is giving and fragile. To eat a pear is akin to … kissing.
Words are cold, muddy toads trying to understand sprites dancing in a field.