{"product_id":"the-abyssinian-by-jean-christophe-rufin-353r","title":"The Abyssinian by Jean-Christophe Rufin","description":"\u003cp\u003eJean-Christophe Rufin yokes the elegant language of the French enlightenment with the storytelling of Alexandre Dumas to create a splendid parable of liberty, religious fanaticism and the possibility of happiness.   'Set in 1700, towards the end of the reign of Louis XIV, it follows the fortunes of a brave apothecary, a talented but unofficial doctor, who is talked into leading an embassy from Cairo to Ethiopia . . . Rufin maintains a perfect balance between impatient detachment and compassionate curiosity. The Abyssinian, like Thackeray's Vanity Fair, carries the weight of history with good-humoured finesse' The Times   'An ambitious first novel, dashing, abundant and, when necessary, vividly theatrical' Times Literary Supplement   '[A] remarkably assured first novel . . . Rufin's writing is elegantly readable' Independent   'It is old-fashioned enough to be delightful, and new enough to be moving' Glasgow Herald   'Rufin offers the reader at least three different novels in the space of a single book: a tale of diplomatic intrigue, a voyage of discovery to a virtually unknown civilisation, and a chronicle of the adventures and loves of his irrepressible hero' Daily Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Express","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":41809653694538,"sku":"353r","price":11.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/9101\/8826\/files\/353r_1.jpg?v=1764172519","url":"https:\/\/www.bookexpress.nz\/products\/the-abyssinian-by-jean-christophe-rufin-353r","provider":"Book Express","version":"1.0","type":"link"}