The Foundling
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Review
'This is a superb study of grief that is both personal and national ... Brilliant and devastating' --The Times
`Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent ... the rendering of the prose is flawless' --Independent on Sunday
'This quirky French bestseller captures the ennui of the featureless country town in impressionistic prose' --Guardian
'Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent ... the rendering of the prose is flawless'
--Independent
`Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent ... the rendering of the prose is flawless' --Independent on Sunday
'This quirky French bestseller captures the ennui of the featureless country town in impressionistic prose' --Guardian
'Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent ... the rendering of the prose is flawless'
--Independent
Product Description
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Agnes Desarthe's latest novel `The Foundling', Winner of the Prix Renaudot des Lyceens, is her eighth novel and the third to be translated into English by Adriana Hunter.
The novel's main protagonist is Jerome, a fifty-six-year-old divorced estate agent living with his teenage daughter, Marina. His ex-wife, Paula, left him four years before, the reasons for which Jerome can understand more than he can understand why she married him in the first place. Jerome considers himself to be a mild and calm person who has always been in control of his feelings - however, when his daughter's boyfriend, Armand, dies in a motorcycle accident, he is surprised to find himself overcome with grief. As Jerome tries to make sense of his overwhelming feelings, he finds himself invaded by emotions and memories that he thought he had left behind in the past. When things become too much for Jerome he escapes to the woods of his childhood and gives in to his urge to run and roll around in the leaves and the bracken, breathing in the rich aromas of the soil and feeling the heartbeat of the Earth beneath his head. Jerome rationalizes this behaviour by remembering how he was abandoned in the forest as a small boy, before being found by a married couple who adopted him and made him a part of their family.
Jerome has no real memory of why he was abandoned and as he struggles to remember his early childhood and to confront issues from his past, his life is further complicated by the visits of a retired policeman who is investigating the disappearance of a young local girl, as well as the accident involving Marina's boyfriend. As Jerome gradually begins to piece together the tragedy of his own origins, some light relief is mercifully provided by a friendly Scottish woman, one of Jerome's customers, who is looking for a home in the area where she can settle and put down roots of own.
This is a deeply resonant and complex story where the author examines themes of identity, of loss, of memory and the forces of history. An enchanting and unusual novel by an internationally acclaimed author and one I would recommend.
4 Stars.
Also recommended by the same author: Five Photos of My Wife
The novel's main protagonist is Jerome, a fifty-six-year-old divorced estate agent living with his teenage daughter, Marina. His ex-wife, Paula, left him four years before, the reasons for which Jerome can understand more than he can understand why she married him in the first place. Jerome considers himself to be a mild and calm person who has always been in control of his feelings - however, when his daughter's boyfriend, Armand, dies in a motorcycle accident, he is surprised to find himself overcome with grief. As Jerome tries to make sense of his overwhelming feelings, he finds himself invaded by emotions and memories that he thought he had left behind in the past. When things become too much for Jerome he escapes to the woods of his childhood and gives in to his urge to run and roll around in the leaves and the bracken, breathing in the rich aromas of the soil and feeling the heartbeat of the Earth beneath his head. Jerome rationalizes this behaviour by remembering how he was abandoned in the forest as a small boy, before being found by a married couple who adopted him and made him a part of their family.
Jerome has no real memory of why he was abandoned and as he struggles to remember his early childhood and to confront issues from his past, his life is further complicated by the visits of a retired policeman who is investigating the disappearance of a young local girl, as well as the accident involving Marina's boyfriend. As Jerome gradually begins to piece together the tragedy of his own origins, some light relief is mercifully provided by a friendly Scottish woman, one of Jerome's customers, who is looking for a home in the area where she can settle and put down roots of own.
This is a deeply resonant and complex story where the author examines themes of identity, of loss, of memory and the forces of history. An enchanting and unusual novel by an internationally acclaimed author and one I would recommend.
4 Stars.
Also recommended by the same author: Five Photos of My Wife
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