I
am reassured in my high opinion of the novel by the responses I received to the
manuscript from preeminent figures in the literary world. Four of them are
quoted on the back of the jacket and I am quoting them here as well to give the
readers some idea of my best and most accessible work.
“There
is so much here it is hard to know where to begin. A high comedy of magic and
revenge on earth and in the heavens, IF ONLY
seduces the reader into a landscape as recognisable as today’s
business pages and as credibly fantastical as Swift or Mark Twain. Jim, the
compromised hero, is, like Voltaire’s Candide, a foreigner wherever he goes.
Stephen Vizinczey is razor-sharp and fiercely funny as he describes Jim’s
adventures in the worlds of old and new money, where the cruelty of ruthless
idiots is justified in defence of rewarded greed. Nightmares and visions
unravel in translucent, witty prose. Along the way, he shows pity in unexpected
places and consistently fights the fight on behalf of the universally
threatened: classical music, marriage, literacy and children. Admirers of Vizinczey’s
novels and essays have waited a long time for a third novel to match In Praise of Older Women and An Innocent Millionaire, and this,
triumphantly, is it.” MICHAEL RATCLIFFE
“IF
ONLY is beautifully written and utterly
compulsive. The opening is brilliant and Neb is a wonderful invention. I
normally hate everything one can call science fiction but Neb works
beautifully, mainly because he’s funny. The novel as whole is dark and bitter.
Swift and other great satirists would approve. The description of modern
corporate life is masterly. The ghastly Norton sums up everything one hates. As
for Ward Bunting… I say dark and bitter (there is a lot of tragedy and
unhappiness) but like all good fairy stories it ends happily. CHRISTOPHER
SINCLAIR-STEVENSON
“Golden remarks and passages are scattered
liberally through the text. The chapters about Comet Claudina and Jim Taylor’s
drowning are particularly fine. A Swiftian satire for the hedge fund age. The
narrative seems nailed to the floor, highly realistic about people losing their
jobs, to the point where an escape from sordid reality makes an impact, and the second part of the book
soars suddenly skywards. The
mixture of harsh truths and escapist fantasy is unique and beguiling.” GEORGE WALDEN
“I discovered
Vizinczey in a bookstore in Strasbourg and was so fascinated that I was
determined to become his Italian publisher. Vizinczey has a rare gift: He is
able to blend disparate threads of the plot, never uses a word too many; he is
incisive and profound; he describes men and, even more impressively, women with
a few memorable brush strokes. His new, moving tale is, again, rich in both
irony and emotion." CESARE DE MICHELIS
Readers can lead a rich life without
having a lot of money, simply by reading great books. Still, I’m glad I have as
few rich readers who are paying £120.00 a copy of the first hardcover edition
which is printed in only 100 copies. I hope, both for my sake and their sake, that
those hardcovers will be worth a lot more in a few years. The first paperback
edition was printed in 5000 copies with a retail price of £14.99. Those who buy
the paperback from my website can do so with a click for £12.00, as long as
their address is within the UK. For European addresses outside the UK a postal
charge of £5.60 has to be added. International mailing charges (i.e. outside
Europe) will be £7.50. The retail price of the e-book version is £9.99.
