The lost manuscript : a novel

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Title:

The lost manuscript : a novel

Author:

Bonidan, Cathy, author.

Uniform Title:

Chambre 128. English

ISBN:

9781250256300

Edition:

First U.S. edition

Physical Description:

274 pages ; 22 cm.

General Note:

Originally published in France in 2019 under the title Chambre 128 by Editions de la Martiniere Litterature.

Subject Term:

Authors -- Fiction.

Manuscripts -- Fiction.

Lost articles -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Genre:

Epistolary fiction

Added Author:

Ramadan, Emma

Summary:

When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her... Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking--that he was not the author of the second half of the book. Anne-Lise can't rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book--and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story. --

Language Note:

TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Bayport Public Library	FICTION BON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	FICTION BON	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	FICTION BON	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"Poignant and powerful." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Lost Manuscript is a charming epistolary novel about the love of books and magical ability they have to bring people together.

Sometimes a book has the power to change your life...

When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her...

Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking -- that he was not the author of the second half of the book.

Anne-Lise can't rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book -- and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story.

Author Notes

CATHY BONIDAN works as a teacher in Vannes and has been writing since the age of 14. Her debut novel, The Perfume of Hellebore Rose , won 11 literary awards in France.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

French novelist Bonidan makes her English-language debut with this poignant and powerful epistolary romance about the effect a book can have on the lives of its readers. Anne-Lise Briard is surprised to discover an unpublished manuscript in a hotel nightstand in Brittany. She's quickly entranced by the brief but passionate love affair contained within its pages and, after she's finished reading, she feels compelled to send the manuscript to an address written in the margins, hoping to reunite the work with its author. In reply, she receives a note from Sylvestre Fahmer, who lost the manuscript when it was still a half-finished work in progress on a trip to Montreal in 1983. Intrigued by the mystery of who could have completed the story, Anne-Lise and Sylvestre search for the second author. Together with Anne-Lise's childhood friend, Maggy, and William, an international poker player they meet along the way, they retrace the manuscript's path across Europe through correspondence with the people who have read it, uncovering the way the novel has affected the lives and loves of its readers. The epistolary form allows Bonidan to incorporate myriad emotional love stories, resulting in a sweeping, heart-tugging romance. Readers will be thrilled. Agent: Marleen Seegers, 2 Seas Literary. (Jan.)

Library Journal Review

French author Bonidan's first novel to be translated into English features Anne-Lise Briard, a young woman who finds a manuscript of a romantic novel in the nightstand of a hotel in a seaside town in Brittany. The story's beauty strikes her so distinctly that once she returns to her home in Paris, she is driven to hunt down the manuscript's author and the reason that it ended up abandoned in said dusty drawer. Anne-Lise writes letters to the hotel in Brittany and to her best friend, Maggy. Then the chase is on, told in letters back and forth from an ever-expanding group. When Anne-Lise finally hears back from the author, he reveals that the manuscript was lost 30 years ago on a flight to Montreal. How did this lovely story get from one place to another? How many lives has it touched? Liaisons are formed, hearts are broken and mended, new friends travel and meet, and, eventually, all mysteries are solved. VERDICT This epistolary work is a charming boulevard of twists and turns. A magnifique French tale of letters, romance, and the love of books, it will be a welcome escape for all.--Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Library Journal Review

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