Synopses & Reviews
French writer Roger Greniers stunning novel tells of a group of friends in the southwest of France whose lives are forever changed by the German Occupation. The moral failings of one of them, Charles Merlin, which at first seem trivial and personal, assume more sinister dimensions when he collaborates with the Nazis. The narrator of the novel, a member of the resistance, watches Charless decline and gains a poignant education in his own failings as he tries to rescue the women in Charless life.
About the Author
Roger Grenier, the author of thirty books of fiction and criticism, is known for his spare language and melancholy wit. For decades he has been a key figure in French letters. Alice Kaplan is a professor of Romance studies and literature at Duke University and the author, most recently, of French Lessons: A Memoir.