Downfall

In this novel Enquist explores the difficult and often disturbing subject of unlikely emotional couplings. The narrator relates several "real" stories, as well as digressing on the nature of love and man. One of the major strands in the narrative is the story of Pasqual Pinon, a freak with two heads. The heads communicate telepathically, expressing initially disgust, hatred and then, finally, love. Though potentially shocking, the themes generate a powerful sense of melancholy which is deftly relieved by moments of humour, adding to the beauty of this fascinating fictional experiment.


Genre: Literary Fiction