The Margot Affair
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- 3,99 €
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- 3,99 €
Publisher Description
A New York Times Editor's Choice
A Herald's Best Summer Book
'An unusual and accomplished first novel . . . moves in intriguing leaps and twists.' Economist
'Gorgeous' New York Times
'Grapples with the complexity of familial love.' Marie Claire
French teenager Margot is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent stage actress and an influential politician. The comings and goings of their unconventional family, in a small Parisian apartment, cast her whole life under a veil of secrecy and shame.
One summer, Margot decides to exercise her own agency when she meets a well-regarded journalist whose trust seems surprisingly easy to gain. But as Margot is drawn into an adult world, she learns how one impulsive decision can change the contours of her life, and the lives of those around her, in ways she could never have imagined.
In this simmering debut Sanaë Lemoine explores private and public faces, truth and deceit, love and persuasion. The Margot Affair is a novel about the bone-deep bond between mothers and daughters, the devotion and betrayal of friendship and the dangers of pushing beyond the boundaries of a life lived in the shadows.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lemoine's sumptuous debut explores the enthralling life of the 17-year-old secret love child of a French politician. Margot Louve is the child of stage actress Anouk Louve and Bertrand Lapierre, the French Minister of Culture during the late '90s. Her father, though loving and kind, only visits Margot and Anouk sporadically, but Margot idealizes him especially in comparison to her dramatic, self-absorbed mother. Tired of subterfuge and lack of recognition, Margot leaks her parents' affair to journalist David Perrin in a bid for public acknowledgement from her father. However, Margot's plan backfires when Bertrand discovers what she's up to and consequently cuts off her and Anouk. As Margot struggles with the consequences of her decision, she turns to David and his wife, Brigitte, and forms a secret life of her own; Margot confides in Brigitte, who considers ghostwriting Margot's memoir. As Margot becomes reliant on Brigitte's attention and validation, she also develops an obsession with David. The eclectic cast and rich Parisian backdrop deepen this dramatic exploration of family and the trials of early adulthood. Francophiles and anyone who appreciates an emotionally rewarding story will enjoy Lemoine's lush, well-crafted tale.
