Award-winning French playwright Reza joined Nicolas Sarkozy and his team as he campaigned for the French presidency. This is a spellbinding look at the interplay between two formidable figures, bound by intellect and nation.
In this compelling narrative, a writer embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind his family's tragic past during World War II, blending memoir, reportage, mystery, and scholarly detective work. The story begins with a boy haunted by the disappearance of six relatives during the Holocaust, a topic that captivated him from childhood. Years later, after discovering desperate letters written to his grandfather in 1939 and hearing fragmented stories of betrayal, he seeks out the remaining eyewitnesses to his relatives' fates. This journey spans a dozen countries across four continents, revealing the painful discrepancies between lived history and the narratives we construct. Ultimately, it leads him back to the small Ukrainian town where his family's story began, where answers to a long-standing mystery await. The narrative deftly intertwines past and present, blending a world-spanning odyssey with childhood memories of a lost generation of immigrant Jews, alongside reflections on biblical texts and Jewish history. This exploration transforms a family's tale into a profound meditation on our tenuous connection to the past. Deeply personal and beautifully written, this literary work illuminates the themes of loss and discovery over time.
"Imagine becoming a best-selling novelist, and almost immediately famous and wealthy, while still in college, and before long seeing your insufferable father reduced to a bag of ashes in a safety-deposit box, while after American Psycho your celebrity drowns in a sea of vilification, booze, and drugs." "Then imagine having a second chance ten years later, as the Bret Easton Ellis of this remarkable novel is given, with a wife, children, and suburban sobriety - only to watch this new life shatter beyond recognition in a matter of days. At a fateful Halloween party he glimpses a disturbing (fictional) character driving a car identical to his late father's, his stepdaughter's doll violently "malfunctions," and their house undergoes bizarre transformations both within and without. Connecting these aberrations to graver events - a series of grotesque murders that no longer seem random and the epidemic disappearance of boys his son's age - Ellis struggles to defend his family against this escalating menace event as his wife, their therapists, and the police insist that his apprehensions are rooted instead in substance abuse and egomania." "Lunar Park confounds one expectation after another, passing through comedy and mounting horror, both psychological and supernatural, toward a resolution - about love and loss, fathers and sons."--BOOK JACKET.
With two young children she adores, loving parents back in London, and an admired husband, Charlie, working at the British embassy in Washington, the world seems an effervescent place of parties, jazz and family happiness to Mary vander Linden. But when Frank, an American newspaper reporter, enters their lives, Mary embarks on a passionate affair.
Awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction, this New York Times bestseller showcases the author’s compelling narrative style. It has been recognized as a Notable Book by the New York Times, highlighting its impact and quality. The story promises to engage readers with its unique themes and character development, making it a standout in contemporary literature.