Author
Sanaë Lemoine
Back Cover
“Margot Louve is a secret: the child of a longstanding affair between an influential French politician with presidential ambitions and a prominent stage actress. This hidden family exists in stolen moments in a small Parisian apartment on the Left Bank.
It is a house of cards taht Margot – fueled by a longing to be seen and heard – decides to tumble. The summer of her seventeenth birthday, she meets the man who will set her plan in motion: a well-regarded journalist whose trust seems surprisingly easy to gain. But as Margot is drawn into an adult world she struggles to comprehend, she learns how one implusive decision can threaten a family’s love with ruin, shattering the lives of those around her in ways she could never have imagined.
Exposing the seams between private lives and public faces, The Margot Affair is a novel of deceit, desire, and transgression – and the exhilarating knife-edge upon which the danger of telling the truth outweighs the cost of keep secrets.”
Our Thoughts
There is so much to say about this book. To start – I absolutely loved it! It was beautifully written and such an intriguing story. I listened to Sanae Lemoine’s interview with Lindsey Tramuta which I highly recommend on top of getting this book. I have to agree that this book is so French yet completely anglophone. I can’t quite put my finger on it perhaps how the dialogue was written, the movement of the plot, or even the themes explored. It was such an intimate portrayal of a young woman and evoked such emotion throughout the entire story. It’s brilliant, and I highly recommend it!
I found it fascinating to think of all the various lovechildren that have been pushed into the spotlight in France throughout the years. The book references the famous example of the former French President Mitterrand who had a second family and a daughter who attend his public funeral.
Beyond the ties to a very real aspect of French life, the emotional confusion and youthful missteps created a very emotional journey for the reader. I was amazing how much I felt for the young protagonist as you see her struggle with the adult world and make mistakes that one can only do in the teenage years on the cusp of adulthood yet so far in other wise. This book may on the surface appear to be a book about a father and daughter, but i the mother daughter relationship was very powerful and present in various forms. Such a wonderful read and is now out in paperback!
Les Bookworms Pod 