The Lost Manuscript

Starred review from November 2, 2020
French novelist Bonidan makes her English-language debut with this poignant and powerful epistolary romance about the effect a book can have on the lives of its readers. Anne-Lise Briard is surprised to discover an unpublished manuscript in a hotel nightstand in Brittany. She’s quickly entranced by the brief but passionate love affair contained within its pages and, after she’s finished reading, she feels compelled to send the manuscript to an address written in the margins, hoping to reunite the work with its author. In reply, she receives a note from Sylvestre Fahmer, who lost the manuscript when it was still a half-finished work in progress on a trip to Montreal in 1983. Intrigued by the mystery of who could have completed the story, Anne-Lise and Sylvestre search for the second author. Together with Anne-Lise’s childhood friend, Maggy, and William, an international poker player they meet along the way, they retrace the manuscript’s path across Europe through correspondence with the people who have read it, uncovering the way the novel has affected the lives and loves of its readers. The epistolary form allows Bonidan to incorporate myriad emotional love stories, resulting in a sweeping, heart-tugging romance. Readers will be thrilled. Agent: Marleen Seegers, 2 Seas Literary.

Four talented narrators--Elodie Yung, Rupert Degas, C�cile Delepi�re, and Jean Brassard--come together to present this epistolary novel about a manuscript found at an inn in Brittany. Finding the manuscript and researching its provenance is Anne-Lise, a Parisian with a love of books and the tenacity to track down those who have touched and been touched by the manuscript. Anne-Lise as portrayed by Yung is curious and bright, a character who exudes a boisterous bonhomie. Other portrayals include Maggie, her longtime friend, played by Delepi�re; Sylvestre, the charmingly French writer of the original manuscript, played by Brassard; and William, the quintessential Englishman, played by Degas, plus other French and Canadian correspondents. The voice of each letter writer is distinct and appropriate. D.L.G. � AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine