English language
Published Nov. 22, 2022 by Faber & Faber, Limited.
A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure. A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime. And a twist so shocking, no one will come out unscathed.
After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written--if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can. Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris, searching the dark corners of power where the world’s wealthiest people …
A mysterious book that promises unlimited power and unrivaled sexual pleasure. A down-on-her-luck book dealer hoping for the sale of a lifetime. And a twist so shocking, no one will come out unscathed.
After a tragedy too painful to bear, former novelist Lily Albrecht has resigned herself to a dull, sexless life as a rare book dealer. Until she gets a lead on a book that just might turn everything around. The Book of the Most Precious Substance is a 17th century manual on sex magic, rumored to be the most powerful occult book ever written--if it really exists at all. And some of the wealthiest people in the world are willing to pay Lily a fortune to find it—if she can. Her search for the book takes her from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris, searching the dark corners of power where the world’s wealthiest people use black magic to fulfill their desires. Will Lily fulfill her own desires, and join them? Or will she lose it all searching for a ghost? The Book of the Most Precious Substance is an addictive erotic thriller about the lengths we’ll go to get what we need—and what we want.
I love Sara Gran and I work with rare books and know people in the book trades and also, as it turns out, I can achieve the key goal the lead character is trying to achieve for her spell casting. Do I believe in sex magic? not really. Do I think this is accurate about the book trade? not at all. Do I think it’s a good escape book? Yes, I do.
Es war schon unterwegs klar, dass das ein Buch ist, das vor allem von langweiligen Ideen vom Schönen Leben handelt: täglich in eine andere Großstadt fliegen (L.A., New Orleans, Paris, München, noch ein paar), Beschreibung des Hotels, detaillierte Beschreibung der dort eingenommenen Mahlzeiten, der reichen Leute, die man dort kennenlernt (und die für diese Mahlzeiten bezahlen), der Häuser dieser reichen Leute, perfekter, aber undetaillierter Sex, langweilige Kink-Chateaus. Aber ich dachte, dass wenigstens die Handlung irgendwohin führt. Tut sie aber nicht.
