A man and a woman meet by chance while returning to their homeland, which they had abandoned twenty years earlier when they chose to become exiles. Will they manage to pick up the thread of their strange love story, interrupted almost as soon as it began and then lost in the tides of history? The truth is that after such a long absence "their memories no longer match." We always believe that our memories coincide with those of the person we loved, that we experienced the same thing. But this is just an illusion. Then again, what can we expect of our weak memory? It records only "an insignificant, minuscule particle" of the past, "and no one knows why it's this bit and not any other bit." We live our lives sunk in a vast forgetting, a fact we refuse to recognize. Only those who return after twenty years, like Odysseus returning to his native Ithaca, can be dazzled and astounded by observing the goddess of ignorance firsthand.
My rating 3 out of 5.
I really think this book is beautifully written or could I say beautifully translated? Either way, it made me want to learn French so bad because I have always wanted to read French literature for it is so beautiful, and it would be awesome to discover a new culture. The story is a bit complicated at first, I felt it was so fragmented I couldn't relate any flashback to the characters. I'm not sure how Irena and Josef knew each other and the ending did not help. I think the ending would be better if it work on clearing things up rather than steaming up things up with sexual scenes. It's still a pleasant read, the words are so delicate and smooth. It's definitely a gateway book. It's my first French book, I can't wait to read it in French!
Comments
Post a Comment