The Confidant
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
Paris, 1975. Sifting through the letters of condolence after her mother’s death, Camille discovers a strange missive sent by someone she does not know. She thinks it is probably an error. But then, every Tuesday, a new letter arrives, recounting a tale of two impossible loves, four broken destinies, until the final dénouement destroys everything in its inevitable path. Little by little, Camille begins to piece together the puzzle and is shocked to realise that this story has a direct bearing upon her own life.
Alternating Camille’s story and the mysterious letters from the unknown correspondent, Grémillon transports us to the years between 1939 and 1943, a fascinating time in French history, to tell a powerful story of friendship and secrets between women, of surrogacy, passionate love, jealousy, revenge and reconciliation.
The Confidant is a thrilling debut novel that blends a historical setting and page-turning psychological suspense with a virtuoso literary style. Along with its success in France, translation rights have been sold in 18 territories.
‘A complex plot, crystalline writing—Hélène Grémillon’s talent explodes in this first novel, as much in her historical precision as in the suspense that lasts until the final paragraph.’ Le Nouvel Observateur
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
