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A review by theliterateleprechaun
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
4.0
Pour yourself a chouchen in a large, frosted glass and be prepared to lose track of time as you delve into Cathy Bonidan’s recently translated novel, ‘The Lost Manuscript.’ Originally written in French and named ‘Room 128,’ Bonidan’s epistolary exchanges over a 6-month period have a strong potential for screen adaptation.
Anne-Lise Briard has just checked into room 128 of the Beau Rivage Hotel in Finistère on the west coast of Brittany, France, when she looks over to the night table and discovers a manuscript. Believing the previous guest absent-mindedly left it, Anne-Lise plans on alerting the staff at the front desk the next morning. Her plans change, however, when she reads the manuscript. Upon finding an address scribbled on one of the pages, she sends it off in the post, thinking she’s returning it to the forgetful author. When he responds, she discovers that not only is he the author, but also that he’d lost the manuscript 33 years ago in the Montreal airport!
What you’ll read next are letters exchanged between strangers, who become friends, and you’ll learn what happened to the manuscript from the time it was lost on a flight to Montreal on April 3, 1983 until Anne-Lise found it in France on April 25th, 2016. Bonidan has successfully achieved her purpose: a hope that readers would discover the magic ability of a book to bring people together. Each life that comes in contact with this manuscript is changed for the better and even the mention of it opens doors and faces light up. One woman recalls spending four years adding to the manuscript as she lived out what were to be her final days with a tumor only to discover that when she finished adding to it, her health had improved. You’ll read about an incarcerated criminal, a depressed woman on the brink, a tired mother, a lonely widower, a forgotten woman in a rehab facility, a tormented woman who loses her family in an accident and a middle-aged curmudgeon who are all tied to the manuscript. Long stripped of it’s envelope, the manuscript has been the centerpiece of a neighbourhood dinner party, forgotten on a beach, delivered to a library in the bottom of a box of donated books, stowed away in an attic for 10 years and tucked in a box of items belonging to a deceased stepfather. It’s travelled to America, Canada, Belgium, and France. If it could talk, I’ve often wondered what stories a lost item could tell upon finding it. Briard has successfully managed to do just that through the correspondence.
Briard has an amazing ability to recruit the reader into the search for those who have been in contact with the manuscript. All of a sudden you’ll notice the tone and greetings between the strangers improve and the communication become more familiar as you get swept up in the quest to retrace its journey. Briards unique premise, her writing style and her cast of colourful characters culminate in an unforgettable tale that will keep readers spellbound. I hope she plans on publishing the manuscript now that she has readers invested in its history.
Thank you to Cathy Bonidan, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this fantastic advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Anne-Lise Briard has just checked into room 128 of the Beau Rivage Hotel in Finistère on the west coast of Brittany, France, when she looks over to the night table and discovers a manuscript. Believing the previous guest absent-mindedly left it, Anne-Lise plans on alerting the staff at the front desk the next morning. Her plans change, however, when she reads the manuscript. Upon finding an address scribbled on one of the pages, she sends it off in the post, thinking she’s returning it to the forgetful author. When he responds, she discovers that not only is he the author, but also that he’d lost the manuscript 33 years ago in the Montreal airport!
What you’ll read next are letters exchanged between strangers, who become friends, and you’ll learn what happened to the manuscript from the time it was lost on a flight to Montreal on April 3, 1983 until Anne-Lise found it in France on April 25th, 2016. Bonidan has successfully achieved her purpose: a hope that readers would discover the magic ability of a book to bring people together. Each life that comes in contact with this manuscript is changed for the better and even the mention of it opens doors and faces light up. One woman recalls spending four years adding to the manuscript as she lived out what were to be her final days with a tumor only to discover that when she finished adding to it, her health had improved. You’ll read about an incarcerated criminal, a depressed woman on the brink, a tired mother, a lonely widower, a forgotten woman in a rehab facility, a tormented woman who loses her family in an accident and a middle-aged curmudgeon who are all tied to the manuscript. Long stripped of it’s envelope, the manuscript has been the centerpiece of a neighbourhood dinner party, forgotten on a beach, delivered to a library in the bottom of a box of donated books, stowed away in an attic for 10 years and tucked in a box of items belonging to a deceased stepfather. It’s travelled to America, Canada, Belgium, and France. If it could talk, I’ve often wondered what stories a lost item could tell upon finding it. Briard has successfully managed to do just that through the correspondence.
Briard has an amazing ability to recruit the reader into the search for those who have been in contact with the manuscript. All of a sudden you’ll notice the tone and greetings between the strangers improve and the communication become more familiar as you get swept up in the quest to retrace its journey. Briards unique premise, her writing style and her cast of colourful characters culminate in an unforgettable tale that will keep readers spellbound. I hope she plans on publishing the manuscript now that she has readers invested in its history.
Thank you to Cathy Bonidan, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this fantastic advance copy in exchange for an honest review.