New book released - If Only

I haven't written a blog for years - I lived in my novel If Only, which is finally printed and ready for readers. I revised the novel for decades and now I think it is perfect. Fifty years ago I published In Praise of Older Women myself because no publisher believed in it as much as I did. Now I’m publishing If Only because no publisher believes in it as much as I do.

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

You can now purchase a copy of my new book via my website at http://www.stephenvizinczey.com/

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.