Product Description

In the summer of 1995, young American writer Martin Paige agrees to chaperone a group of high school seniors on their graduation trip to Paris as a favor to his best friend, teacher Diane Jacobs. Diane hopes Europe will act as a catalyst to lift Martin from his grief following the suicide of his lover, Peter. But the trip proves to be more than either of them bargained for. Martin finds himself falling in love with one of her students, David McLaren, who is unprepared to cope with his burgeoning sexuality. He also meets a mysterious Parisian woman, Irene Laureaux, who is debilitated by agoraphobia and spends her days spying on the hotel guests across from her apartment. Martin and Irene discover they have a logic-defying connection: a small tribal tattoo on their left hands that means equal but opposite. This is same tattoo that Martin s lover and Irene's husband had inked into their skin. All the characters lives are irrevocably changed in a horrifying terrorist attack on a Paris metro station. Liberated by the blast, forced from her own self-imprisonment, Irene learns her husband's death was not an accident, and dares Martin to acknowledge the role he played in Peter's suicide. Diane, harboring her own secrets and a hidden agenda, takes a drastic step to force David out of the closet and admit his feelings for Martin. From America to England to France, the globe-hopping story places fictional characters amidst historical events such as the Nazi occupation of Paris, the student/worker riots of 1968 and the terrorist bombings of Paris in 1995. Grounded in reality, Conquering Venus is a mystery, a love story and a journey of self-realization.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330055 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 280 pages

Review
Collin Kelley writes with the heart of a saint and the horns of a satyr. Conquering Venus poetic, personal and proud goes off like a starter s gun to announce a fine new writer of fiction. --Charles McNair, Land O Goshen and Book Editor of Paste Magazine

From Memphis to London and to Paris, Martin Paige seeks redemption after a terrible and violent loss. The wonder is that he still believes in love, even when it appears like an apparition in an elusive and conflicted young man. Collin Kelley takes you on a sometimes frolicsome, sometimes tragic tour of the heart in this engaging first novel. --Gary Zebrun, Only the Lonely

Unflinching and mysterious, Conquering Venus is that rare combination of poetic and page-turner. Collin Kelley who refreshingly faces taboos head-on has packed his cinematic debut novel with compelling characters, meaty plot twists and satisfying surprises. This novel is freshly contemporary as well as, in its own fashion, a love letter to Paris. --Kate Evans, For the May Queen and Complementary Colors

About the Author
Collin Kelley is a novelist, poet and playwright from Atlanta, Georgia. His poetry collections include After the Poison, Slow To Burn and Better To Travel, which was nominated for the 2003 Georgia Author of the Year Award, Kate Tufts Discovery Award and Lambda Literary Award. He is a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee and a recipient of the 2007 Georgia Author of the Year/Taran Memorial Award from the Georgia Writers Association at Kennesaw State University for poetic excellence and his work as co-editor of the Java Monkey Speaks Anthology series from Poetry Atlanta Press. His poetry, essays and interviews have appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies around the world. His play, The Dark Horse, was the recipient of the 1994 Deep South Festival of Writer's Award for Best Play from the University of Louisiana and the Georgia Theatre Conference Award in 1997. Kelley has been a journalist for more than 20 years. Conquering Venus is his first novel.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful prose, seductive story!
Collin Kelley's debut novel is an irresistible read. Wait no longer! As a poet, Kelley's writing is precise, captivating, and memorable. Combine this with a sensual plot that moves at a clip, and it becomes impossible not be invested in the characters. What compels Irene to be agoraphobic? Will David ever be able to be honest with Martin? What is the catalyst for Diane's snarky and often hilarious quips? Set mainly in Paris, Kelley deftly brings the city to life, using familiar landmarks as talismans for key scenes in the novel: the palace of mirrors at Versailles, Notre Dame, Ile de la Cite, etc. Building on this, he overlays his characters, creating a resonance that continues long after the last page of the novel:

"Martin studied himself in the unforgiving image. He looked thin and haunted; his eyes showed despair and exhaustion. Irene knelt beside him, holding a photo of her and Jean-Louis taken in the same spot in front of Notre-Dame. "This is a message," Irene whispered, "Not coincidence."

Kelly sets up a compelling combination of love triangles--both overt and secret--a dose of magic realism, voyeurism on both intended and non-intended front (are we as readers voyeurs as well?) all presented through well-crafted prose and symbolism. In doing so, he leaves us looking at Venus de Milo in a way we have not yet seen her before.

But the best news of all is that there is not one view, nor one story to tell. Kelley's Conquering Venus is the first of a trilogy and a brilliant foreshadowing of what is to come.

I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.
Wow! I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this one, but what I got was writing of the highest caliber that propelled a story that was both fascinatingly convoluted and heartbreaking. These characters will haunt me for a long time to come.

Elegant, compelling writing
In "Conquering Venus," Collin Kelley creates a mysterious, compelling escape from the everyday, with wonderfully paced writing and gorgeous language. It's no surprise that Kelley's a poet, too. Treat this book like dessert, the kind you eat all at once and want more of.