The Gendarme - Softcover

Mustian, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1851688390 ISBN 13: 9781851688395

Publisher: Oneworld Publications, 2011

Synopsis

An extraordinarily haunting novel of identity and remembrance, love and forgiveness. Emet Conn is an old man on the verge of senility, a feisty World War 1 veteran who suffered amnesia during the war. Now at the end of his life, he suddenly finds himself beset by vivid dreams of a march across a foreign land, of appalling acts of cruelty, and the anguish of a lost love. But these are no dreams and he is no prisoner. As the memories come flooding back and his grasp on the past and present begins to break down, he sets out on one final journey to find the love of his life and beg her forgiveness. With a multi-layered plot and deft characterisation, Mustian explores how love can transcend nationalities and politics, how racism creates divisions where none truly exist, and how the human spirit fights to survive even in the face of hopelessness.

About this title

Review:

"First novelist Mustian writes relentlessly, telling his haunting story in brief bursts of luminous yet entirely unsentimental prose and reminding us that, when life gets bloody, we had better watch out for our own humanity." --Library Journal

"Gripping." --Times Literary Supplement

"Every decade or so, I find a novel that I sense, just by reading the basic description, will become unforgettable: after reading only 20 pages of The Gendarme, my impression was confirmed with great force... One can only eagerly await what he'll come up with next." --Bookpage

"A story that probes a timeless array of life's general adversities: the tricks of memory that enable us to carry on with our daily existence; the brash decisions and subsequent regrets of the young; the ever present need for forgiveness; the way a single event can be subject to many interpretations." --New York Times Book Review

"Extraordinary... a harrowing and truly important novel." --Robert Olen Butter, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Hell

"Touching and important - an exploration of memory and forgiveness that shouldn't be missed. Five stars." --Bookbag.com

About the Author:

Mark Mustian is an author, attorney, and city commissioner. He lives with his wife and three children in Tallahassee, Florida.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1851688390
• ISBN 13: 9781851688395
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304