Author(s): Amelie Nothomb

Fiction

When lonely sixteen-year-old university student Blanche meets the dazzling Christa, she is swept off her feet. Christa, who talks freely of her impoverished background in the Eastern Belgian town of Malmedy, claims to work in a bar with her boyfriend, a David Bowie lookalike called Detlev. When Blanche's mother, who finds her own daughter rather colourless, bookish and dull, is also dazzled by Christa, she invites her to stay at the family house. Suddenly Christa can do no wrong and, as Blanche's parents scour their address-book for long-lost friends to invite for dinner to meet the newcomer, their friendship sours and Blanche's already negligible self-confidence goes into a steep decline. With all the characteristics of Nothomb's unique fictional landscapes, Antichrista is a funny, dark and revealing journey through female friendship and rivalry. About the Author: Belgian by nationality, Am lie Nothomb was born in Kobe, Japan, and currently lives in Paris. Described by Time Magazine as 'prolific and ingenious', she is the best-selling author of thirteen novels, translated into thirty languages. Fear and Trembling won the Grand Prix of the Acad mie Fran aise and the Prix Internet du Livre. The Book of Proper Names was originally published in France as Robert Des Noms Propres where is has sold over 250,000 copies. Reviews: 'Concise, philosophical, enigmatic, Nothomb's writing is highly personal and beyond fault.' - The Guardian. First published in French 2003. This translation 2005.