Sylvie Germain

“A breeze of voices, a polyphony of whisperings.”

It is the ice of one heart turning not into water but air.
It is the life of another heart turning not into death but hibernation.
A song of love dying again and again.
A song of lies, betrayals, and infidelities.
A song of flaming death, falling death, diseased death, crushing death.
It is the song of the tragedy of humanity.

“An exaltation of silence.”

The bombing of Hamburg near the end of World War II. Gomorrah. Nothing is left but parts show more of walls still standing, rubble, and bodies. A woman crouches with dancing flames attached to her back. They continue their wild waltz until the woman falls, the flames totally consume her, and the short macabre opera is finally over. A small child, until just recently holding her hand, now mindless with shock, continues walking. To where, he does not know.

This is the story of a child growing up in the aftermath of war, discovering the truths of his past, listening to the whisperings of ghosts, and as a young man, finding and losing love.

This novel is the closest thing to perfection that I have read in quite some time. It is Tolstoy stripped bare. It is Shakespeare put to prose. It is to observe every human emotion from within and from without. Beautiful, poetic, sad, and unique in the canon of this type of literature.

“War, or the delirium of crime raised to the level of a sacred mission.” show less

This is a really superb work which examines a very disturbing subject in a convincing and realistic way while also adding elements of magic realism and whimsy. It's a very thorough character study which also presents subsidiary characters with much individuality. It has a very intense sense of the natural world and the flora and fauna are presented as analogous to the interior life of characters. The preface to each chapter describes the play of light on the milieu described and showcases show more Germain's descriptive powers while being challenging to read. I was impressed the author chose to show the destructive effects of Lucie's experiences rather than seek any easy deliverance or transcendence of her situation. I was especially convinced by Lucie's estrangement from others due to her ordeal. I'll definitely keep this stirring and reflective novel in my collection. show less

I picked up this book expecting it to be something absolutely different than what I got. However, I'm glad I picked it up.

The story revolves around a child named Lucie and the world around her. The chapters where things are shown to us from the perspective of the light, or the objects, are absolutely delicious in the way they are written. I also love how we can dive inside the characters mind, and understand what they're going through. The passages where the world is seen through the show more innocent, childlike eyes of Lucie in the beginning was marvelous and imaginative (and somewhat humorous too. Like the explanation of fairy electricity). It also has a portrait of human consciousness that I really liked. That's part of what kept me glued to this book - the humanity of the characters in it.

I'm not sure how to describe this book, in all honesty, because it's such a different read than what I usually choose. It is dark, shocking, sad, moving, beautiful, honest and haunting. But it certainly is a very good book. show less

In 1992 I lived in Prague for three months, having visited the city many times before and after that, most recently last summer. As the city changes, nonetheless, the past seems always tenable, there to grab, but for ever just out of reach. Sylvie Germain's poetic novel seems to attempt to capture that aspect of Prague, in the form of a phantom, which appears in various places of the city. This phantom, or spirit, appears as a heavy-set woman, who limps uneasily through the streets, or show more appears in fog, like a shadow, an epiphany, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Knowledge of the city of Prague intensified my experience of the book, which contains some beautiful descriptions, and catches the spirit of the city. show less