The Old Fire: A Novel

Elisa Shua Dusapin is so skilled at writing these tender, melancholic stories that are full of something so rarely shown: platonic affection. This particular book, about a fraught relationship between two sisters cleaning out their father's house after his death, ends with them sleeping back to back in one bed in the empty house, the slight contact acting as unspoken reconciliation after years of distance.

Agathe, the narrator, leaves her family in France to work in the US, returning only now after her father's death, to clean out her childhood home. Véra, her sister, has remained in Dordogne, and since childhood, has stopped speaking, communicating sparingly via her phone by typing out text messages. In contrast, Agathe, a show more screenwriter, pores over every single word she writes. Their mother left when they were young, and Agathe has been Véra's caretaker her whole life. As the years pass and Agathe leaves, the distances and silences between them grow, and Agathe is hesistant to accept the small smiles and gestures her sister offers because she knows that at the end of this process, she'll leave again. But in small tiny ways, as they clear out the debris of their childhood from their old home, they rebuild connection, with Véra tugging on Agathe's sleeve to show her it is time to leave, Agathe putting down her work to go walk in the woods with Véra. The physical landscape of Dordogne looms over them, local caves where their father was a tour guide, mushroom picking in the forest, hunters' guns echoing around them.

This is such a beautiful, slow book, tracing how language and silence allow use to bridge and separate relationships. There's so much tenderness and pain and Dusapin has chosen her words carefully, with an excellent translation by Aneesa Abbas Higgins. I look forward to anything she writes. show less

The Old Fire by Elisa Shua Dusapin is recommended literary domestic fiction translated from the French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins. Two sisters, Agathe and Vera, return to the crumbling family home five years after their father's death in order to clean it out after selling it.

Agathe, a 30 year-old screenwriter living in New York, left her home at 15 to live in the U.S. and hasn't returned to France until her Vera calls and asks for help cleaning the family home out. Véra has been aphasic since she was six, after their mother left them, and communicates through texts. Now the two, almost strangers, have nine days to empty the house which will them be demolished while simultaneously old memories, resentments, secrets, and traumas show more resurface.

This atmospheric novel has a unsettled, melancholy feeling due to the dilapidated house, the untamed setting, Agathe's personal struggles, and even the hunters in the woods, all intermingling with the haze of old memories, hurts, and expectations. The pace is slow, but the novel is short. In spare writing, it begs the question what do we owe an estranged family member and can you set your past aside.

The two sisters know very little about each other, have no connection except their parentage, and don't appear to truly care to try to reconnect. Agathe, as a successful scriptwriter, has achieved some success, but Vera's life is unknown. Their relationship growing up was complex and left scars. And, no, to answer the question Vera asks, the two would not be friends if they weren't sisters.

The Old Fire will be best appreciated by those who enjoy atmospheric, pensive literary novels. Thanks to S&S/Summit Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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Tras quince años separadas, Agathe, guionista en Nueva York, vuelve a encontrarse con Véra, su hermana pequeña y afásica, en la casa familiar del Périgord en la que han crecido. Han acordado su venta y tienen nueve días para vaciar el lugar de objetos, muebles, ropa, libros. Las piedras de los muros antiguos servirán para restaurar el palomar vecino, devastado por un incendio que ocurrió hace más de un siglo. Véra se comunica con su hermana por escrito, mostrándole la pantalla del móvil. En esos días de reencuentro con el pasado, Agathe descubre que su hermana ha cambiado. Ella es quien ha cuidado de su padre hasta su muerte. Ahora es una mujer que cocina con agilidad, independiente, y Agathe no sabe bien cómo relacionarse show more con ella.
La Dordoña francesa es el escenario de la cuarta novela de -Elisa Shua Dusapin, la más personal de la autora hasta la fecha. A través de una mirada precisa y certera, rebosante de dulzura, Dusapin nos habla de la memoria familiar y de la violencia de los sentimientos entre dos hermanas que el tiempo y el silencio había separado. show less

Agathe et sa sœur Vera, muette depuis l’enfance, se retrouvent pour vider la maison familiale à la mort de leur père. Deux sœurs liées par leur histoire commune, leur antagonisme et leur attachement inavoué. Un court roman qui garde ses mystères et charme par son atmosphère, ses non-dits, la poésie de ses ambiances et de son style.