Mercure, Paperback Book, By: Amalie Nothomb

On an island off Cherbourg, an old man and a young girl live in isolation, surrounded by servants and bodyguards, sheltered from any reflection; Hazel should never see her own face. Hired to take care of the young girl, Françoise, a nurse, will discover why Hazel is resigned to the caresses of the old man. She will understand at the cost of what implacable machination the latter satisfies a mad, paroxysmal love. At the heart of this disturbing camera, Amélie Nothomb finds her favorite themes: absolute love and its illusions, the inseparable passion of perversity.