On a side note the writing is excellent and a great antidote to the tube! Definitely worth a bit of time & effort.


A detective story written by a poet   January 14, 2004
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

The book is narrated by Lewis Little, a 13-year-old boy staying in Paris over the summer holidays whilst his mother, a translator, works on a book by Valentina Gavrilovich, a beautiful Russian author who writes popular Medeival romances.

Lewis and his mother stay in Valentina's spacious luxury apartment in the centre of Paris. Lewis kills time by taking Valentina's dog Sergei for walks, playing computer chess and reading. Lewis also develops a crush on Valentina, which grows as he turn's 14 and events escalate into full blown love.

One day Valentina dissapears mysteriously and Lewis sets his chess mind to unravelling the mystery and beating the police at finding her.The novel ends dramatically but I won't give it away in case you have not read it yet.

The novel's strong points are its evocation of a Parisian summer, its poetic, sparkling prose which succesfully transports; its luxurious theme, its occasional humour and as always with Rose Tremain a, sort of, deep symbolic poetry that opens, resonates and illuminates the readers understanding of the charcters and their emotions, and through them, the human condition in general.

It has been argued that Tremain failed in her ambitious attempt to successfully 'get under the skin' of an adolescent boy. Having been one myself I think this is too harsh a judgement. She understands male obsession very well and the narration is beleivable enough to work. Lewis's precocity is a little exagerated, perhaps. I found myself questioning whether a 13-14 year-old boy could be that wise or emotionally developed and thinking he would be rare individual, remebering how I and my peers behaved. Nevertheless, this did not spoil the story for me.

The novel's weekest point is its ending. It is almost as if Tremain lost her nerve. Once again I have to be careful or I will spoil it but all I will say is that it could have been 'better'.


Disappointing   April 9, 2003
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

Though very well written and extremely accurate and vivid in its descriptions of Paris, the book is disappointing. The reader can not identify with any of the central characters of the story, not even sympathize with them. They are too strongly characterised (the eccentric writer, the precocious teenager...)or simply no characterised at all to be believable. Lewis Little is even disgusting, sometimes, with his superior attitude and pedantic manners. The plot is intriguing, but the author has given to the criminal side of the story less interest than to the wild thoughts of Lewis. This leads to a rather precipitated denoument which leaves the reader unsatisfied.


A page-turner, but flawed   January 8, 2003
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I enjoyed this book, but at the same time it frustrated and annoyed me. It's a thriller, with ample suspense and a thoroughly satisfying story and ending, a proper 'denouement' where all the loose ends come together in a satisfactory if not satisfying way.
But what annoys me is the way this female writer has tried to write about a young male teenager's thoughts, about his masturbation, physical stimulation, and his fantasies. Much of the detail just doesn't feel right. Am I the first person to review this book who is brave enough to say so? Or am I the first male reviewer?

However, it is a good read nevertheless, but not as good as Music & Silence which is my favourite book of recent years.


Spellbinding   August 20, 2002
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Wow. I am completely bowled over by the beauty, humour and sometimes disturbing narrative of this book. So beautifully written, I was enthralled from page 1, and quickly found myself in the heat of a Parisian summer, as a silent observer of Lewis Little and his quirky, funny and occasionally worryingly psychotic observations of life around him.
A great read.