{"product_id":"the-untouchable-9780679767473","title":"The Untouchable","description":"One of the most dazzling and adventurous writers now working in English takes on the enigma of the Cambridge spies in a novel of exquisite menace, biting social comedy, and vertiginous moral complexity. The narrator is the elderly Victor Maskell, formerly of British intelligence, for many years art expert to the Queen. Now he has been unmasked as a Russian agent and subjected to a disgrace that is almost a kind of death. But at whose instigation? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Maskell retraces his tortuous path from his recruitment at Cambridge to the airless upper regions of the establishment, we discover a figure of manifold doubleness: Irishman and Englishman; husband, father, and lover of men; betrayer and dupe. Beautifully written, filled with convincing fictional portraits of Maskell's co-conspirators, and vibrant with the mysteries of loyalty and identity, \u003ci\u003eThe Untouchable\u003c\/i\u003e places John Banville in the select company of both Conrad and le Carre. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWinner of the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Contemporary fiction gets no better than this... Banville's books teem with life and humor.\" - Patrick McGrath, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Victor Maskell is one of the great characters in recent fiction... \u003ci\u003eThe Untouchable\u003c\/i\u003e is the best work of art in any medium on  its] subject.\" -\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"As remarkable a literary voice as any to come out of Ireland; Joyce and Beckett notwithstanding.\" -\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/30\/1998\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780679767473\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.07h x 5.12w x 0.87d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/19\/1998 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"John Banville","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36639908921500,"sku":"9780679767473","price":14.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_7de89292-9a77-4557-94dd-dcc8bbad708e.jpg?v=1603850892","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-untouchable-9780679767473","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}