Rose Royal
A Love Story
-
-
4.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $17.99
-
- $17.99
Publisher Description
From the Goncourt Prize–winning author of And Their Children After Them, a devilishly smart noir novella that finds uncomfortable truths in the everyday about romance, violence, and women’s desire and desirability.
Nearing fifty, with a divorce and a string of other failed relationships behind her, Rose has given up on the idea of love, if not sex—though that always comes with risks. Determined not to let another man hurt her, she even ordered a .38 caliber handgun after an argument with her latest boyfriend almost turned violent. Now she carries it everywhere, just in case.
As if on autopilot, Rose spends her days at work and then at the Royal, a familiar haunt where she knocks back one drink after another, sometimes with her best friend Marie-Jeanne. And then a sudden accident brings Luc into the bar, and Rose decides to give love one last chance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The presence of a .38 caliber handgun hangs over this taut novella, told in three exactingly written episodes, from Prix Goncourt winner Mathieu (And Their Children After Them). In part one, the attractive Rose devotes her evenings to the Royal, her favorite neighborhood bar. Since a boyfriend grew violent, Rose carries a gun—"a heavy weight in her purse, a helpful presence, a true companion"—which comes in handy in an emergency situation involving Luc, a man she meets in the bar. Part two charts the less than satisfactory romance that develops between Rose and Luc, and the final section, set at a posh hotel, portrays their final breakup. The handgun perhaps isn't enough in itself to turn the narrative into noir, and Rose at times acts in unconvincing ways, but these are quibbles. Mathieu does a fine job capturing the universal ambience of a good bar and its regulars. This is an eccentric little book with depths beyond its page count.
