The Confidant - Softcover

Gremillon, Helene

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143121561 ISBN 13: 9780143121565

Publisher: Penguin Group USA, 2012

Synopsis

"A gripping first novel" (Le Figaro Litteraire) and an award-winning international sensation as haunting and unforgettable as Suite Francaise

Paris, 1975. Camille sifts through letters of condolence after her mother's death when a strange, handwritten missive stops her short. At first she believes she received it by mistake. But then, a new letter arrives each week from a mysterious stranger, Louis, who seems intent on recounting the story of his first love, Annie. They were separated in the years before World War II when Annie befriended a wealthy, barren couple and fell victim to a merciless plot just as German troops arrive in Paris. But also awaiting Camille's discovery is the other side of the story, which will call into question Annie's innocence and reveal the devastating consequences of jealousy and revenge. As Camille reads on, she begins to realize that her own life may be the next chapter in this tragic story.

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About this title

Review:

"Helene Gremillon takes us to the heart of a family secret. We witness undeclared love, hidden hatreds, and revenge with terrible consequences. She writes of two periods in time in two voices. And we are twice as caught up in this book which truly touches our hearts."--ELLE (France)

"Succumb to a very French story and allow yourself to be seduced by Helene Gremillon's serpentine tale of wartime passion and revenge. As the past intensifies its grip on a young woman's present, shifting perspectives exert an irresistible pull. Direct, unsettling and atmospheric." --Deborah Lawrenson, author of The Lantern

"Helene Gremillon tells her heartrending tale of human frailty, cruelty and love in prose of subtle elegance, and her flawed, fascinating characters stayed with me long after I'd finished the book. This is poised and beautiful storytelling." --Margaret Leroy, author of The Soldier's Wife

"This most assured first novel is structured like a series of matryoshka dolls; as we start reading, stories within stories are revealed until we are finally faced with the gem at the centre. Gremillon's conclusion to what is both mystery story and romance is an absolute crackerjack." --The Saturday Age (Australia)

"Helene Gremillon's talent bursts forth in this first novel, as much for the style as the historical details and the suspense that persists up to the very last paragraph. As for the main characters... they are all complex, unpredictable and above all charismatic."--Le Nouvel Observateur

"The cinematic rhythm is thrilling. A triumph." --Paris Match Belgium (France)

"Helene Gremillon: remember this name! Scrupulously written, with fine and harmonious phrasing that renders the heroines' voices perfectly."--Le Point

"Sensitively written, it is a suspenseful, absorbing tale about the power of history and how it plays on the present." --Herald on Sunday (Australia)

"A truly compelling read." --Grazia (Australia)

"Step back in time with this intriguing French mystery... Gremillon expertly builds the psychological suspense." --Courier Mail (Australia)

About the Author:

Helene Gremillon was born in France in 1977. She has degrees in literature and history and has worked as a journalist at the French newspaper, Le Figaro, before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in Paris with her partner, singer and songwriter Julien Clerc, and their child. She receivedThe Prince Pierre Literary Prize forThe Confidant, her first novel.
Visitwww.helenegremillon.com."

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Group USA
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0143121561
• ISBN 13: 9780143121565
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 245