Red is My Heart by Antoine Laurain, illustrated by Le Sonneur

Enormous thanks to Isabelle over at Gallic Books for gifting me this incredible book!

Synopsis

How can you mend a broken heart? Do you write a letter to the woman who left you – and post it to an imaginary address? Buy a new watch, to reset your life? Or get rid of the jacket you wore every time you argued, because it was in some way … responsible?

Combining the wry musings of a rejected lover with playful drawings in just three colours – red, black and white – bestselling author of The Red Notebook, Antoine Laurain, and renowned street artist Le Sonneur have created a striking addition to the literature of unrequited love.

Sharp, yet warm, whimsical and deeply Parisian, this is a must for all Antoine Laurain fans.

Review

credit: drawing by Le Sonneur – extract from “Red Is My Heart”

What a clever way to share with us the tribulations of a man’s suffering a heartbreak. 

Through words and art, we are the humble recipient of many representations of the colour red; anger, love, passion, life, war, danger… Our grieving man is seeing red in more than just a way. 

As he meanders through memories, trying to replay instants of a past that will no longer turn into a future, he is forced to process his loss in a beautifully poetic way. 

“I feel that by changing my watch, I will change my concept of time.

Trying to forget through far fetched ideas, what was once familiar is now alien, what was once an “evidence” is a question.

Does time heal all wounds? 

This book is a true beauty, the feelings pouring out of the pages, thanks to witty words and expressive drawings.

One to read and re-read without moderation. 

And for my fellow French readers, ce livre s’intitule “Et Mon Cœur Se Serra”

With Love
AGJ

Out now with Gallic Books

credit: drawing by Le Sonneur – extract from “Red Is My Heart”

About Antoine Laurain

Antoine Laurain lives in Paris. His award-winning novels have been translated into fourteen languages and have sold more than 200,000 copies in English. The President’s Hat was a Waterstones Book Club and Indies Introduce Selection, and The Red Notebook was on the Indie Next List.

About Le Sonneur

Le Sonneur is a contemporary Parisian artist. His work tells the story of Paris and the people who live there. His artwork is often placed in public spaces with an invitation to passers-by to interact with the work, for example by picking up a key or calling a telephone number.

As well as in Paris, his work has been exhibited in Tokyo, Berlin, Melbourne and Dubai.

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The Readers’ Room by Antoine Laurain

Thanks so much to Isabelle over at Gallic Books for my copy of this fantastic book! 

I absolutely loved it! Obviously it’s a French author so I start biased but I just adore Antoine’s books ! 

Quick (only 182 pages), easy and so so gripping it’s just perfection ! 

Violaine Lepage is a woman of many vices. And after a near death experience during a plane crash, she seems to have forgotten them all! Somehow the accident makes her a better version of herself. She doesn’t smoke anymore, she no longer is unfaithful, but what else might have she forgotten…

Through the pages, Antoine Laurain pays homage to many authors, and especially Proust.  Violaine cannot remember aspects of her life, but rather than reminiscing with a taste, smell or other sensations, her madeleine is actually Marcel Proust himself, philosophising with her. 

Such a clever book! A mystery with a pinch of romance, philosophy, psychology, identity, sprinkled with inexplicable events, leaving you wondering, triggering your imagination and opening up your power of  interpretation! 

A wonderful nod to books and their magic, conjured up when a reader picks them up. Books have a life of their own…

It is a book that you will want to read several times… at least I know I will!! 

For my French friends, you can find this beauty published under the title “Le Service des Manuscripts”.

With Love
AGJ

Out now

— Synopsis—

When the manuscript of a debut crime novel arrives at a Parisian publishing house, everyone in the readers’ room is convinced it’s something special. And the committee for France’s highest literary honour, the Prix Goncourt, agrees. 

But when the shortlist is announced, there’s a problem for editor Violaine Lepage: she has no idea of the author’s identity. As the police begin to investigate a series of murders strangely reminiscent of those recounted in the book, Violaine is not the only one looking for answers. And, suffering memory blanks following an aeroplane accident, she’s beginning to wonder what role she might play in the story … 

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