Other editions of book West of the Moon

A retired timber merchant encounters a beautiful woman during a winter journey to Venice. On the train, the two begin a conversation which continues later in the cafes and restaurants of the city. Yet they do not seek to communicate so much as to find a new and illuminating grammar with which to explore the shadows of the inexpressible.The couple, both unnamed, are drawn together by an affection that might be called love. But in the end, their relationship proves as elusive as their attempt to articulate it.