A beautifully written poignant and moving story of parental secrets.
The story starts with Hélène who doesn’t remember her mother as she died when she was an infant. She finds a picture of her mother as a very young woman, at a tennis tournament with two young men she did not recognise at all. Hélène places an advertisement, asking for more information about the people in the photo.
Stéphane responds as he recognises one of the young men is his father and so the story unfolds via the correspondence between Stéphane and Hélène.
The book reminded me a little bit of 84 Charing Cross Road in utilising a series of letter, e-mails and postcards as the main narrative. This works particularly well as you gain insight into the feelings, thoughts and personalities of Helene and Stéphane more so than a more traditional narrative.
I particularly enjoyed the exquisite and detailed descriptions of the various photos in the story that brought the unseen fictional images to a sharp clarity.
An enchanting, moving and enjoyable read written in the most beautiful prose.
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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