by Rose Tremain
First published 1997
Lewis Little arrives in Paris at thirteen, accompanying his mother Alice on what seems like a simple working trip. Alice has come to translate the newest medieval romance by Valentina Gavrilovich, a successful Russian writer who has made France her home. Lewis expects to explore one of the world's great cities for the first time. Instead, he finds himself drawn into Valentina's orbit as she begins to exert a mysterious influence over him. The summer takes an ominous turn when Valentina's hidden past surfaces, threatening to destroy the magical world Lewis has discovered. As everything he has come to cherish slips away, Lewis must embark on a dangerous journey that will test his courage and forever change his understanding of the adult world around him.
Genres: literary-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, contemporary, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Paris, France, Russia
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
Paperback · Fallois