Red is My Heart by Antoine Laurain and Le Sonneur

First a note on the cover: I don't know if this is the final cover for the American edition of Red is My Heart but the one I have is so subtle that the words don't stand out (they're impressed rather than printed on the cover). In person, it has a nice look but this cover is what you see at Amazon. I chose this image over a photo of my copy so that it would stand out. 

Red is My Heart by Antoine Laurain and Le Sonneur (illustrator) is a sweet, sad, funny, and ultimately hopeful story about a man who is despondent after his girlfriend leaves him. It's heavily illustrated, so probably novella length.

Each of the illustrations are in black and white with a touch of red. The red is usually distant in some way (but not always), and I presume it represents the loss of a piece of the protagonists heart or the distance, loneliness, and longing that he feels. But, maybe it's less a collaboration than a project written with the thought of Le Sonneur's art (which, you can see from this interior shot, the author describes as serving no purpose). I'd love to know how this book came about.

Highly recommended - I love Antoine Laurain's sense of humor. Red is My Heart is a simple story of a broken heart that appears to be on the mend in the end, but both Laurain's sly wit and the illustrations made Red is My Heart a super fun read that I will undoubtedly return to when I want to read something simple and visual. 

I jumped the gun a bit because I neglected to look at the publication date when I sat down to read Red is My Heart. The current release date is January 18, 2022. It can be pre-ordered. 

My thanks to Meryl Zegarek Public Relations and Gallic Books for the review copy! 

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Vintage 1954 by Antoine Laurain

I'm a big time travel fanatic, counting Jack Finney among my favorite authors, so when I read that there was a time travel aspect to Vintage 1954 after reading The Readers' Room, also by Antoine Laurain, I knew I must read it. 

In 1978, a Frenchman who saw a UFO in 1954 and has been teased about it ever since drinks a bottle of wine, goes for a walk, and never returns. In 2017, the owner of an apartment complex in Paris, two of his tenants (including the great-grandson of the man who disappeared), and an American staying in an Airbnb in the building all share a bottle of wine and return to 1954. What does a UFO have to do with their trip through time and will they ever be able to return home?

Highly recommended - A lovely, quirky, upbeat story. I absolutely loved Vintage 1954. I'm always besotted with time travel but I particularly loved the fact that there was a unique twist with the UFO and adored the sweet friendship that grew between the four people who unexpectedly travelled through time together. 

My thanks to Gallic Books publicist Meryl Zegarek, who sent me a copy of Vintage 1954 after I mentioned that I'd added it to my wish list!!

©2021 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain

In The Readers' Room by Antoine Laurain, Violaine LePage awakens in the hospital to find that she was badly injured in a plane crash, she is missing pieces of her memory, and the author of a bestselling mystery that she published cannot be located. With the Prix Goncourt coming up and Sugar Flowers a likely contender, this is a serious problem that could end her career.

The author of Sugar Flowers has never made an appearance at the publishing company, instead asking for his or her contract (the name of the author could be of either gender) to be sent to a hotel in London. And s/he has stopped responding to emails.

When a police officer shows up at the publishing house to say that she's read Sugar Flowers and the murders described in the book exactly match two murders that she's investigated, then a third person the officer thought connected to the murdered men is killed, Violaine and her employees come under suspicion. Who wrote this wildly bestselling book? Is there a connection between Violaine or any of the other employees and the victims? If so, what is it? And, what do sugar flowers (made by bakers) have to do with their deaths, if anything?

Recommended - I found The Readers' Room captivating and couldn't put it down. The ending was a little disappointing but I enjoyed the book enough that I dashed off to see what else Laurain's written and have added another of his books to my wish list.

I received a copy of The Readers' Room unsolicited in the apparent hope of my unbiased opinion (there ya go) but I didn't keep the publicity material so I'm afraid I have no idea who sent it. Whoever you are, thanks!

Vintage 1954 is the other Laurain title I put on my wish list, if anyone wants to buy me a birthday present. ;)


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.