Book cover of Speaking to No. 4

Book description

From America to France and Eastern Europe to Japan, this quest for a woman who has disappeared is a psychological mystery and an architectural odyssey in one. 


Where is Alma? A future husband—No. 4—is desperately seeking his fiancée, who has disappeared. To locate her, he is interviewing her three former…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Speaking to No. 4 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I can't think of anyone else like Ms. Ifland writing today. This novel is astonishingly original, witty, cerebral--and yet not so abstract that it can't evoke genuine emotions too. The fiancé of an elusive and enigmatic woman is trying to track down his love, who has disappeared--and does so by interviewing her previous three husbands. The search takes us to a French monastery, a Japanese temple, and other mysterious places.

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