The Fig Eater
Copyright © 2001
by Jody Shields
Back Bay Books
How to Buy
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Fashion writer Shields (All That Glitters; A Stylish History) achieves atmospheric suspense in her compelling
first novel, set in 1910 in Freud's Vienna. — Publishers Weekly
While delivering a unique and engrossing story, Shields imparts a wealth of Eastern European gypsy folklore as well
as seductive period detail on photography, arcane medical procedures, and prevailing sexual psychology. This is a
masterpiece for all suspense collections. — Library Journal
The Fig Eater, a first novel by Jody Shields, takes readers, with mesmerizing clarity, to Vienna in 1911 ... through
overlapping perspectives, Ms. Shields flashes dazzling stereopticon slides of a city floating between opposites ... Ms
Shields has a powerful gift for poetic and painterly imagery. Her startling scenes, rich in metaphor, linger long in
memory." — Wall Street Journal
Shields is an intelligent writer unafraid to take chances, and this is a promising debut; her handling of setting alone
justifies purchase. — Booklist
Suspenseful, atmospheric and highly intelligent. — DM Thomas
The layered mystery is revealed slowly, with Shield's evocative prose exploring the crossroad of scientific and
superstitious belief..." — Seattle Times
...a genre combo mixed with self-awareness and served up with attitude... — Philadelphia Inquirer
...eerily atmospheric depiction of Vienna...one of those novels whose aura stays with you even after the details of the
plot are forgotten... — Denver Post
...Shield's prose is incredibly rich ... filled with a wealth of detail ... rarely loses sight if the plot and delivers
a first novel that is stylish and compelling... — Chicago Tribune
...vivid portrait of coffeehouse society...as well as the sinister and sordid underbelly of a seemingly civilized
society that's painter by the author... — Denver Rock Mountain News
...magnetic, insinuating itself both through language and through the nebulous shape of its story...
— Harper's Bazaar
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What the Critics Say
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