About this ebook
‘A wonderful surprise' L'Express
Is it true that every life is the stuff of novels? Or are some people just too ordinary?
This is the question a struggling Parisian writer asks when he challenges himself to write about the first person he sees when he steps outside his apartment. Secretly hoping to meet the beautiful woman who occasionally smokes on his street, he instead sets eyes on octogenarian Madeleine. She’s happy to become the subject of his project, but first she needs to put her shopping away…
Wondering if his project is doomed to be hopelessly banal, he soon finds himself tangled in the lives of Madeleine’s family. Though calm on the surface, the Martins have secrets, troubles and woes, and the writer discovers that the most compelling story is that of an ordinary life.
About the author
David Foenkinos is the author of 17 novels which have been translated into 40 languages. His novel Delicacy was made into a film starring Audrey Tautou. He received the 2014 Prix Renaudot and Prix Goncourt des lycéens for Charlotte.
Sam Taylor is the author of The Republic of Trees (2005), The Amnesiac (2007), The Island at the End of the World (2009), The Ground is Burning (2011), all published by Faber and Faber UK. Sam’s translations include award winning HHhH (2012), The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (2014) and The Heart (2017). He lives in Texas with his family.
