In others words, this is a startlingly suspenseful and entirely engrossing book. Cecile and Philippe, each 47 years old, were lovers 27 years earlier. They find themselves seated next to each other on a train. Will they speak? Shout? What are they afraid of? Who is Mathieu? And what exactly happened on that fateful trip to London?
Told in back-and-forth points of view between the two characters, Blondel has terrific mastery of the interior processes of these distinct people. I was rather blown away by his grasp of the connections between our present and past selves. And he does a superb job of laying out that space between the indifference of our children and the recalcitrance of our parents (I'm paraphrasing...can't find the quote) which characterizes a certain time of life. I hope Blondel writes many more novels, and very soon.
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