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A review by khairun_atika
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
3.0
"I do know that a story can monopolise our summers and our autumns. I know that a novel can transport us far, penetrate and transform us forevermore. I know that characters on paper can modify our memories and remain forever at our sides." - The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan, translated by Emma Ramadan
If you are a fan of love, literature and letters, then this book would be a prized possession of yours. This book is filled with so much charm and delight, yet also with the despair of tragedy and forbidden romance. There is something whimsical and beguiling about such a story, and it is one that would enchant any reader.
The Lost Manuscript is an epistolary novel which starts with the discovery of a long-lost manuscript that has been read by so many people in so many parts of the world, unbeknownst to the original author. Anne-Lise Briard takes it upon herself to reach out to the author, only to find out that the manuscript was initially incomplete. Yet somewhere through its journey, someone has taken the liberty to finish the story.
What takes place soon after is a wonderful adventure as Anne-Lise and her band of friends, old and new retraced the mysterious manuscript's trail over the past thirty years, to when it first went missing, to the many lives and souls that it touched. The trail reveals the events of every character's past - some romantic, some tragic, yet mostly hopeful and wistful.
Reading this book was a breeze. With every letter written by the different characters, glimpses of the past are revealed quietly and without grandeur, lending an ethereal feel to the charm of the book set primarily amidst the landscape of France. It reminds me a little of The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain, in its beautiful rendition of literary puzzles. Moving and thoroughly delightful, this is a wonderful ode for fans of love, letters and maybe, those who long for the magic and romantic nature for love letters. For this book is a dazzling love letter to literature.
If you are a fan of love, literature and letters, then this book would be a prized possession of yours. This book is filled with so much charm and delight, yet also with the despair of tragedy and forbidden romance. There is something whimsical and beguiling about such a story, and it is one that would enchant any reader.
The Lost Manuscript is an epistolary novel which starts with the discovery of a long-lost manuscript that has been read by so many people in so many parts of the world, unbeknownst to the original author. Anne-Lise Briard takes it upon herself to reach out to the author, only to find out that the manuscript was initially incomplete. Yet somewhere through its journey, someone has taken the liberty to finish the story.
What takes place soon after is a wonderful adventure as Anne-Lise and her band of friends, old and new retraced the mysterious manuscript's trail over the past thirty years, to when it first went missing, to the many lives and souls that it touched. The trail reveals the events of every character's past - some romantic, some tragic, yet mostly hopeful and wistful.
Reading this book was a breeze. With every letter written by the different characters, glimpses of the past are revealed quietly and without grandeur, lending an ethereal feel to the charm of the book set primarily amidst the landscape of France. It reminds me a little of The History of Love by Nicole Krauss and The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain, in its beautiful rendition of literary puzzles. Moving and thoroughly delightful, this is a wonderful ode for fans of love, letters and maybe, those who long for the magic and romantic nature for love letters. For this book is a dazzling love letter to literature.