The Foundling
Agnes Desarthe
The Foundling
Jerome is a calm man - at least, that's what he'd always believed. But when his daughter's boyfriend dies in an accident, he is overwhelmed by unexpected grief. As he struggles to make sense of the loss and his own reaction to it, he finds himself assailed by emotions and memories he has allowed to lie dormant: the residual feelings for his ex-wife; a baffling new attraction to a stranger; a precarious friendship with a retired policeman; and, above all, unsettling questions about his own past and the family he never knew. In returning to the forests of his childhood and the darkest nights of the second world war, Jerome gradually, painfully begins to piece together the truth of his own origins and the tragedy that his adoptive parents tried to bury.
3.5 out of 5 based on 3 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Classification |
Fiction |
| Genre |
General Fiction |
| Format |
Paperback |
| Pages |
240 |
| RRP |
£12.99 |
| Date of Publication |
February 2012 |
| ISBN |
978-1846274114 |
| Publisher |
Portobello Books |
| |
Jerome is a calm man - at least, that's what he'd always believed. But when his daughter's boyfriend dies in an accident, he is overwhelmed by unexpected grief. As he struggles to make sense of the loss and his own reaction to it, he finds himself assailed by emotions and memories he has allowed to lie dormant: the residual feelings for his ex-wife; a baffling new attraction to a stranger; a precarious friendship with a retired policeman; and, above all, unsettling questions about his own past and the family he never knew. In returning to the forests of his childhood and the darkest nights of the second world war, Jerome gradually, painfully begins to piece together the truth of his own origins and the tragedy that his adoptive parents tried to bury.
Reviews
The Times
Kate Saunders
"This is a superb study of grief that is both personal and national; a heartbreaking twist reveals the unspoken origin of Jerome’s first name in a country full of buried tragedies. Brilliant and devastating."
28/01/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Leyla Sanai
"Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent. At the same time she is astute and amusing in her depiction of Paula, who freely boasts of her conquests yet is driven to jealous wrath by the mere mention of women who had a crush on Jerome years ago. Those who love the French penchant for analysis may enjoy Desarthe's playful pontification over mundane events."
29/01/2012
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The Guardian
Alfred Hickling
"Agnès Desarthe's quirky French bestseller is conceived in hazy, impressionistic prose that occasionally feels like one is reading through a fine mist, but it captures the ennui of the featureless country town …"
31/01/2012
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