T., an acclaimed but ageing actor, and Efina, a passionate theatre-goer, are engaged in an obsessive love affair characterized by reciprocal attraction and repulsion. They compulsively write letters (often to express their intense dislike of the other), which are sent or unsent, answered or unanswered; they meet, they break up, they marry, but only for a brief period. They can live neither with nor without one another, and this impossible state of affairs lasts all their lives. In between, there are other men, many other womenand a whole succession of dogs. And always, to the very end, the magic of the theatre, the art of make-believe and sham will be embodied by T., a preposterous man but a sublime artist.
"Efina "is a novel about obsession, told in a quirky, highly original style. Obsessive thoughts and behaviours are detailed in flat, clear prose and followed to their absurd limit, so that what could have been a sad tale of failed love is transformed into a small masterpiece of dark humour."
