Among many excellent Christmas presents Cath got for me, one was this by one of my favourite French authors.
The only issue is, as I’ve mentioned before, M Mauvignier doesn’t like to use one word when he could use five.
For example in this passage where he uses:
Trous – holes
Anfractuosités– crevices
Crevasses – crevasse
Ravins– ravines
Plaies – cuts
As a result this book is somewhat of un pavé – a massive slab. It’s 744 pages long.
I wonder if that’s why one of the reviewers in France said:
Pourquoi Laurent Mauvignier veut-il punir les lecteurs qui ne lui ont rien fait ?
Frédéric Beigbeder
Figaro Magazine
It is a epic story of one French family through the last 150 years.
I loved this description of a French village with its carotte rouge lumineuse (a tabac sign) and the echo of la croix verte (the pharmacy sign). Those are of course omni-present in all French towns and villages.
I would highly recommend it – but I might read a shorter book in English next.
Thrown to (the) Lyon 