The Confidant

September 17, 2012
Set in Paris in 1975, Gremillon’s absorbing debut begins when Camille Werner receives a long, unsigned, handwritten letter among the condolence notes after her mother’s death. Already in a state of shock, both from the unexpected death and from breaking up with her boyfriend after his casual mention of not wanting children when Camille told him she was pregnant, Camille becomes fascinated with the correspondent’s tale of a budding romance between two teenage friends, Annie and Louis, in a small town on the cusp of WWII. Camille becomes convinced that it is this Louis who wrote to her, though she assumes her receipt of the missives is a mistake. In subsequent letters (which are differentiated from Camille’s narrative by the use of fonts), Louis spins his tale of a love that became doomed when Annie was befriended by a young, wealthy, and unhappy Parisian couple. As a book editor, Camille wonders if Louis (who never signs the letters) is trying to wangle a publishing contract. But when he reveals that Annie has a daughter born around the time of Camille’s own birth, Camille becomes obsessed with locating Louis and getting the whole story behind his letters. Finely written, unabashedly romantic, and full of twists, this novel will grip readers until the end. Agent: Rebecca Byers, Plon-Perrin Presses de la Renaissance.

November 1, 2012
From French writer Gremillon, an impressive first novel, a tale of love, infidelity, jealousy and guilt presented in a manner that grows in suspense and surprises right up to the very end. When Camille Werner's mother dies in 1975, she finds among the condolence letters a long letter from a stranger narrating a story that bears no apparent relation to her or her mother, so she naturally thinks the writer must have made a mistake in addressing it to her. As the letters continue coming regularly every week, she begins to believe it is a work of fiction that an aspiring author is sending her in epistolary installments as a way to get her attention. Camille is an editor at a publishing house, so she is intrigued by this unusual but plausible explanation. Then, as the story continues, she recognizes odd little clues that force her to realize the letters are indeed meant for her and are not fiction, but are in fact the story of her family and her conception, especially poignant insofar as she is herself pregnant. The story of Camille's family, set in France in the early years of World War II, is told by three authentic, distinct voices. The transitions flow naturally from one to the other with musical precision and harmony, until Camille adds her own reactions and revelations to move the narrative on to the next verse. A poetic novel.

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November 1, 2012

In 1975, Camille encounters a mysterious, unsigned letter among the condolences she receives after her mother's death. So opens a heart-wrenching story of four people in World War II France, told from the perspective of each. The wealthy "Madame M" has not yet borne a child and feels increasingly pressured, both by family and by the government, which declares it the duty of all French women to conceive as the death rate escalates from the war. Out of desperation, she accepts a startling offer from her young friend, Annie. A series of letters from Louis, Annie's boyfriend at the time, relates the ensuing events to Camille, who as a book editor initially suspects a clever plot to get her to read a manuscript. Slowly, though, she realizes that she is at the very core of Madame M's machinations. VERDICT Beyond the suspense, Gremillon explores topics of female identity, such as the self-doubt that sometimes plagues childless women. The result is a beautifully translated powerhouse of a debut novel that brilliantly conveys love, trust, betrayal, confusion, and bitterness, as well as the obsessive behavior of its characters. Definitely for fans of Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key.--Lisa Rohrbaugh, Leetonia Community P.L., OH

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