Translated by Ken Hollings

MARION BOYARS MODERN CLASSICS

‘Purely voluptuous, a charming volume’ Evening Standard

‘If ever a continental import was needed, it is this one’ The Guardian

‘A short book, but a richly suggestive one about the theft of people’s time by modern society, and the effort we should make in order to reclaim it’ Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian

'[A] daydream of a book’ The Independent

‘The siesta is the civilised way to rediscover our inner rhythm and let our thoughts roam’ Phil Hogan, The Observer

'Brothers and sisters! Seize the siesta' The Art of the Siesta

This book is a series of vignettes on the importance of the siesta in paintings, literature, and sculpture. In Preliminary, we hear of the rhythm of sleep, including the fear babies have of going to sleep. In The Midday Demon, death in life and erotic dreams take form. The last vignette, The Siesta Fights Back, shows how the economic necessities of Western society are conquering the siesta.

This is a translation from the French of a book that helps reinstate the values that the siesta stands for, with reference to philosophy, art and music. From mosques, where guards sleep under the protection of Allah, to 'slow-food' restaurants in Berlin in 2001, it explores the part sleep plays in human life.

Thierry Paquot lives in Paris where he is Professor of Architecture at Paris-la-Défense.

Format: paperback
ISBN: 0 7145 3401 3
£8.95