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A l'encre russe
Alors qu’il était enfant, Nicolas Duhamel a perdu son père, disparu en mer. A vingt-quatre ans, lors du renouvellement de son passeport, il découvre que son père n’est pas le fils de Lionel Duhamel et s’appelle en réalité Koltchine. Pourquoi ce secret savamment entretenu ? Affecté par ces révélations, qui ravivent la douleur de la perte, Nicolas se lance sur la piste de ses origines, jusqu’à Saint-Pétersbourg. De cette enquête découle un roman, publié sous le pseudonyme de Kolt, qui rencontre un succès phénoménal. Après trois ans sous les spotlights, un brin plus arrogant, celui qui se nomme désormais Nicolas Kolt séjourne sur la côte toscane. Dans un hôtel pour happy few, il verra s’accumuler orages et périls, défiler sa vie et se jouer son avenir.
337 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
196 people are currently reading
7787 people want to read
About the author
Tatiana de Rosnay
67 books5,330 followersNew book !
"The Rain Watcher"
Saint Martins Press USA
October 2018
"Sentinelle de la Pluie"
Editions Héloise d'Ormesson
and in Norway, Holland, Sweden and Germany.
Follow me on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tatianaderosnay
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My website :
http://www.tatianaderosnay.com/
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TATIANA DE ROSNAY was born in the suburbs of Paris and is of English, French and Russian descent. She is the author of 8 French novels. Tatiana de Rosnay is married and has two children. She lives in Paris with her family.
She is the author of several novels, Sarah's Key, A Secret Kept (Boomerang) and The House I Loved (Rose) The Other Story (A L'Encre Russe) and "Manderley Forever', a biography of Daphne du Maurier.
"The Rain Watcher"
Saint Martins Press USA
October 2018
"Sentinelle de la Pluie"
Editions Héloise d'Ormesson
and in Norway, Holland, Sweden and Germany.
Follow me on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tatianaderosnay
https://www.instagram.com/tatianadero...
My website :
http://www.tatianaderosnay.com/
Facebook page :
http://www.facebook.com/tatianaderosnay
TATIANA DE ROSNAY was born in the suburbs of Paris and is of English, French and Russian descent. She is the author of 8 French novels. Tatiana de Rosnay is married and has two children. She lives in Paris with her family.
She is the author of several novels, Sarah's Key, A Secret Kept (Boomerang) and The House I Loved (Rose) The Other Story (A L'Encre Russe) and "Manderley Forever', a biography of Daphne du Maurier.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 990 reviews
May 8, 2014
Tatiana de Rosnay really missed the mark on this book. I have only read one of her other books (Sarah's Key, which was fabulous) so I was expecting something of that caliber. Boy was I wrong. There was not one single likeable character in the book. There really wasn't a story line. And that last part where she threw in the Costa Concordia accident (under a different name of course) was laughable. What was the point? This book was a joke. She should be completely ashamed of having her name on the cover.
July 13, 2013
Tja... i jeste ona i nije ona... Ako niste dosad ništa njeno čitali ne bih preporučila da krenete s ovom knjigom... Ali pisci ne mogu uvek da pišu odlične knjige, poneka i omane... Čekam sledeću, nadam se bolju od ove... :)
January 31, 2014
Nicolas is a jerk – a pompous egomaniac who has driven away all of his friends with his arrogance. But he wasn’t always this way. It wasn’t until the publication of his novel, its unprecedented success (and an Oscar winning movie adaptation), and his own international fame swept him off his feet that he ruined everything good in his life. Now the world (and his publisher) is clamoring for more from him, so Nicolas spends a weekend at an exclusive Italian resort to try to find motivation for his second book.
I love stories about writers and their creative process, but what is offered here is not insight into Nicolas’s genius. As his weekend unfolds in the present tense, the narrative flashes back to the circumstances that inspired his first novel, The Envelope. Without giving too much away about this story line, I’ll just say that he had to uncover a mystery about his father 12 years after his death, and that turns into the basis of his book. But during his weekend in Italy, the repercussions of his recent behavior finally hit him full in the face. Not only will Nicolas have the holiday to reflect on the events that led to the demise of his reputation and personal life, he will have a chance to redeem himself. Despite focusing on an often unsavory character, I enjoyed the way Nicolas’s story was presented, the way his past unfolded, and how he came to terms with his own inadequacies.
I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
I love stories about writers and their creative process, but what is offered here is not insight into Nicolas’s genius. As his weekend unfolds in the present tense, the narrative flashes back to the circumstances that inspired his first novel, The Envelope. Without giving too much away about this story line, I’ll just say that he had to uncover a mystery about his father 12 years after his death, and that turns into the basis of his book. But during his weekend in Italy, the repercussions of his recent behavior finally hit him full in the face. Not only will Nicolas have the holiday to reflect on the events that led to the demise of his reputation and personal life, he will have a chance to redeem himself. Despite focusing on an often unsavory character, I enjoyed the way Nicolas’s story was presented, the way his past unfolded, and how he came to terms with his own inadequacies.
I received a copy of this book via the Amazon Vine program.
March 22, 2014
I was not particularly impressed with this book. It took nearly two-thirds of it before I felt much interest in the main character, Nicholas Duhemel, aka Nicolas Kolt. He is an author who managed to have a best selling first novel and let it go to his head. Fam and some fortune made him a pompous, self-absorbed bore. He also became afflicted with writer's block which prevented him from producing a promised second book.
Toward the end of the novel, deRosnay gives some back-story to Nicholas that adds a dimension to his character, but I felt it was too little too late.
This book is nowhere near as well done as her earlier works.
Toward the end of the novel, deRosnay gives some back-story to Nicholas that adds a dimension to his character, but I felt it was too little too late.
This book is nowhere near as well done as her earlier works.
January 2, 2015
This book shouldn't have been written. There was absolutely no plot, no character development and nothing really happens for most of the book.
I forced myself to read it hoping the mystery around Nicolas Kolt's father's disappearance would be solved, but even that doesn't happen.
Are the readers supposed to assume that whatever the 'author Nicolas' wrote for 'his book' is the same ending for his story too?
I cannot believe this is by the author of Sarah's Key. The prose was not captivating, at all.
The book is dedicated to Tatiana's Russian grandmother whose surname 'Koltchine' is used in the book. So is this a memoir within a story within a story?
The lack of plot development or dislikable characters would have been forgiven if she had just written it as a memoir, as her journey. But dang it, it isn't a memoir.
Don't read it.
I forced myself to read it hoping the mystery around Nicolas Kolt's father's disappearance would be solved, but even that doesn't happen.
Are the readers supposed to assume that whatever the 'author Nicolas' wrote for 'his book' is the same ending for his story too?
I cannot believe this is by the author of Sarah's Key. The prose was not captivating, at all.
The book is dedicated to Tatiana's Russian grandmother whose surname 'Koltchine' is used in the book. So is this a memoir within a story within a story?
The lack of plot development or dislikable characters would have been forgiven if she had just written it as a memoir, as her journey. But dang it, it isn't a memoir.
Don't read it.
July 30, 2023
2.5 stars
A one-hit wonder author escapes to a posh Tuscan resort in an attempt to work through the writer's block delaying his promised second book. His first and only novel was inspired by his personal discoveries about his father's line, trying to work out all the secrets. It will take another huge event to give him inspiration. His present shallow life just isn't doing it.
And thus the reason for my 2.5 stars. A fairly unlikeable, shallow man is front and center; and my attention waned midpoint.
I have enjoyed de Rosnay in the past and will probably try her again. Ratings on this one are all over the place, so I simply think the book isn't for everyone. Some will love it, some will not.
A one-hit wonder author escapes to a posh Tuscan resort in an attempt to work through the writer's block delaying his promised second book. His first and only novel was inspired by his personal discoveries about his father's line, trying to work out all the secrets. It will take another huge event to give him inspiration. His present shallow life just isn't doing it.
And thus the reason for my 2.5 stars. A fairly unlikeable, shallow man is front and center; and my attention waned midpoint.
I have enjoyed de Rosnay in the past and will probably try her again. Ratings on this one are all over the place, so I simply think the book isn't for everyone. Some will love it, some will not.
June 2, 2014
For as much as I loved Sarah's Key - I hated 'The Other Story'. The author seems to infer that her main character became a jerk when his accidental first novel became a world wide sensation and fame went to his head. I rather think, he was always a bit of a jerk just without the wherewithal to really act on his baser instincts.
I kept reading wondering what the point or message of this book is, I'm not sure I ever found it. Nicholas Kolt is an odious main character frittering away his success and questionable talent in pursuit of fame. One might infer that he finally finds epiphany in the books final chapters, instead I think he finds only a lifeline that will allow him to continue on the path he's found to be most comfortable.
I kept reading wondering what the point or message of this book is, I'm not sure I ever found it. Nicholas Kolt is an odious main character frittering away his success and questionable talent in pursuit of fame. One might infer that he finally finds epiphany in the books final chapters, instead I think he finds only a lifeline that will allow him to continue on the path he's found to be most comfortable.
February 28, 2014
I read this novel in a weekend, and was captivated by the protagonist, Nicolas Kolt, a highly flawed but very real man. The Other Story perfectly captures the life of the writer, social media addiction, the end of a relationship, and the beginning of self-realization. Tatiana de Rosnay has a way of sketching the atmosphere of a room through keen insights into the characters populating it, reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the denouement of the novel is moving and redemptive.
The Other Story is very different from de Rosnay's other novels, and every bit as good. I will read anything she writes because I know it will be outstanding. Highly recommended.
The Other Story is very different from de Rosnay's other novels, and every bit as good. I will read anything she writes because I know it will be outstanding. Highly recommended.
July 6, 2015
Oh my goodness. This is, quite possibly, the worst book I have ever finished. Absolutely AWFUL! I kept reading because I enjoyed "Sarah's Key" so much, and wanted to give the author the benefit of the doubt. I kept waiting (and waiting) for the much referred-to "secret" that would blow the story out of the water. Instead there was poorly written prose, annoying characters with zero depth, and an incongruous plot that was just plain stupid. Really, really stupid. I am so incredibly disappointed. Save yourself - do not read this!
May 4, 2014
I had been trying to find a book that gave me more of a reaction than simply "meh." I found such in this title; unfortunately, for this author, my reaction was not so positive.
Nicolas is an author, whose debut novel was a literary sensation, propelling him into unexpected stardom and fame. Sadly, however, we see that fame has turned Nicolas into a jerk. Throughout the novel, set over three days in an exclusive Italian resort, we are shown much of a pompous d-bag he truly is (e.g. checking his social media accounts constantly to see what others are saying about him, disbelief that a famous editor did not recognize him, etc.). Even worse, we spend most of the novel waiting for something to happen beyond watching Nicolas sit around with his dick in his hands (literally), whining about his imagined angst, and pretending that he's writing another novel.
Perhaps we are meant to feel some sort of empathy for Nicolas, whose supposedly amazing novel is a fictionalized account of learning that his father is not who Nico thought he was (born in Russia to a teenage mother, possibly a spy before his mysterious death). The chapters alternate between present-day at the hoity-toity resort and a few years ago as Nico unravels the mystery of his father's life. For those readers waiting for the great reveal about the father, don't hold your breath.
The bulk of the story is how Nico's ego and hubris are destroying his life. And, like every epic Greek tragedy, he must undergo some sort redemption at the end of the story. Sadly, his intended redemption (rescuing people off a sinking ship...seriously) feels just another way in which Nico remains firmly the center of his own world. He fails to save one woman and suddenly he is plunged into self-despair at his own failure. Even worse (again), this supposed emotional wound is what releases the writer's block and compels him to write what we are meant to believe is his second astonishingly brilliant and emotive novel. So, the moral, apparently, is that true writers create their work from a deeply wounded and raw place, a literal catharsis or recovery. Perhaps this little writing lesson would have been better affected had the author (via Nico) cataloged the compulsive writing habits of very well-known authors earlier in the novel...those writers who worked, toiled, labored to write, rather than waiting for the Greek tragic muse to stir them.
And, to top it all off, the novel's title "The Other Story"....what is the other story?!?! Damned if I know.
Nicolas is an author, whose debut novel was a literary sensation, propelling him into unexpected stardom and fame. Sadly, however, we see that fame has turned Nicolas into a jerk. Throughout the novel, set over three days in an exclusive Italian resort, we are shown much of a pompous d-bag he truly is (e.g. checking his social media accounts constantly to see what others are saying about him, disbelief that a famous editor did not recognize him, etc.). Even worse, we spend most of the novel waiting for something to happen beyond watching Nicolas sit around with his dick in his hands (literally), whining about his imagined angst, and pretending that he's writing another novel.
Perhaps we are meant to feel some sort of empathy for Nicolas, whose supposedly amazing novel is a fictionalized account of learning that his father is not who Nico thought he was (born in Russia to a teenage mother, possibly a spy before his mysterious death). The chapters alternate between present-day at the hoity-toity resort and a few years ago as Nico unravels the mystery of his father's life. For those readers waiting for the great reveal about the father, don't hold your breath.
The bulk of the story is how Nico's ego and hubris are destroying his life. And, like every epic Greek tragedy, he must undergo some sort redemption at the end of the story. Sadly, his intended redemption (rescuing people off a sinking ship...seriously) feels just another way in which Nico remains firmly the center of his own world. He fails to save one woman and suddenly he is plunged into self-despair at his own failure. Even worse (again), this supposed emotional wound is what releases the writer's block and compels him to write what we are meant to believe is his second astonishingly brilliant and emotive novel. So, the moral, apparently, is that true writers create their work from a deeply wounded and raw place, a literal catharsis or recovery. Perhaps this little writing lesson would have been better affected had the author (via Nico) cataloged the compulsive writing habits of very well-known authors earlier in the novel...those writers who worked, toiled, labored to write, rather than waiting for the Greek tragic muse to stir them.
And, to top it all off, the novel's title "The Other Story"....what is the other story?!?! Damned if I know.
May 18, 2023
J’aurais dû me procurer ce livre en anglais puisqu’il semble que j’en ai lu une traduction. Ce qui m’a donné envie de le lire c’est le fait que le héros, tout comme Tatiana de Rosnay a été confronté aux difficultés de la loi Sarkozy qui exigeait que les gens dont les parents, bien que français, ne soient pas nés en France, doivent fournir des preuves de leur nationalité souvent fort difficiles à trouver. Ça a été mon cas et m’a donné l’impression qu’on cherchait à nous replonger dans la sinistre époque de l’Occupation
May 18, 2021
Decided to DNF this at 70 % but I think I got far enough to still get it a rating. Don't think Tatiana de Rosnay is the author for me
May 10, 2014
Sarah's Key was one of my favorite books! The Other Story is such a disappointment! A writer of one book was made into an award winning movie, rocketing Nicholas, the writer, to instant fame. Nicholas' father drowned when he was a boy. Why should an extraordinary swimmer drown? When Nicholas had to get his father's birth certificate, he found out that his father was born with another name and that he had been adopted. Nicholas never knew what job his father had. There were so many secrets surrounding his father. He spent years of his young life trying to figure out his father's secrets. Nicholas tried to address his father's secrets and solve his own questions about his father's past and death in his first book. HIs personal experience and grief over his father's served Nicholas well for the royalties and endless admiration he received from strangers all over the world.
The reader never finds out about Nicholas' father secrets. Most of the book describes Nicholas' egotistic and narcissistic character when fame goes to his head. I found it personally disgusting when Nicholas would use his cell phone to receive and write lewd sexual messages to a woman he met once at one of his book signings. The book dragged on and bored me to tears.
Throughout most of the book, Nicholas is dismayed that he cannot figure out what to write for his second novel. He lies to everyone, including his promoter, that he is nearly done with his second novel. His friends can no longer bear the man Nicholas has become. They berate him and de-friend him, one by one.
Only at the very end of the book does an event occur that will change Nicholas' fortune, (and endless misfortune), as the reader had to read about over and over again. Again, I am so disappointed in this read. I read to the end only because I admire Tatiana de Rosnay...
The reader never finds out about Nicholas' father secrets. Most of the book describes Nicholas' egotistic and narcissistic character when fame goes to his head. I found it personally disgusting when Nicholas would use his cell phone to receive and write lewd sexual messages to a woman he met once at one of his book signings. The book dragged on and bored me to tears.
Throughout most of the book, Nicholas is dismayed that he cannot figure out what to write for his second novel. He lies to everyone, including his promoter, that he is nearly done with his second novel. His friends can no longer bear the man Nicholas has become. They berate him and de-friend him, one by one.
Only at the very end of the book does an event occur that will change Nicholas' fortune, (and endless misfortune), as the reader had to read about over and over again. Again, I am so disappointed in this read. I read to the end only because I admire Tatiana de Rosnay...
June 2, 2014
Having just completed this novel, I'm now here on Goodreads perusing the ratings. I was shocked to discover some pretty harsh ones. While I too did not like Nicholas's character initially, he felt very real to me - a young man, who is still very much a boy emotionally, overwhelmed by his success and acting out on a lot of his Id impulses, rather than getting to work on the novel he's promised to so many people. As a writer, I appreciated Nicholas's struggles as a writer and how he would want to avoid delving into a well of emotion again. How easy it is to be seduced by the superficial draws of modern life that we all get lost in from time to time (some of us addicted, like Nicholas). I think de Rosnay created a fully fleshed out character who develops and changes. I think the secondary characters are also interesting. Beyond the character and the story, which unfolds deliciously, de Rosnay's prose are crisp and pretty, without being overly pretty.
July 24, 2019
This book was recommended to me by a librarian. I had never heard of Tatiana de Rosnay and had never read Sarah's Key, which I think was my saving grace. Just seeing the reviews here stunned me as I was so taken back at how many people responded so negatively to this book. I can't help but wonder if most of that is because of preconceived notions of what a de Rosnay book should be like? If you approach this with a 100% open mind and no expectations, this is a fantastic read! de Rosnay did a phenomenal job of crafting a main character that is so flawed that you can't help but be absorbed by his journey.
April 16, 2015
The last quarter of this book was actually good. First 3/4 was painful reading about a self absorbed author with nothing going for him. Sarah's key is one of my all time favorite books, so I was expecting more from this author.
August 16, 2018
Uma narrativa que mistura a cultura de Hollywood e a literatura universal.
May 18, 2015
#2015 Reading Challenge--Week 20: a book at the bottom of my to-read list.
I added this book to my to-read list shortly after it was published. I think it languished there because it had received so many one and two-star reviews, mostly because it was being compared so unfavorably to Tatiana de Rosnay’s other books such as Sarah’s Key.
I have to go against the stream and say I actually enjoyed this book. De Rosnay has a captivating writing style that drew me into the storylines she intertwines so successfully. Although the main character, Nicolas Duhamel, was quite often an insufferable jerk, I have to admit, he was still interesting to me and I found myself cutting him some slack because he was only twenty-something and still trying to find himself through many challenging, life-changing situations.
Nicolas Duhamel was eleven when his father, Theodore Duhamel, failed to return from a day sailing at sea. No body was ever found and after a year, he was officially presumed dead. Another blow falls ten years later when Nicolas is required to provide documentation about his family’s places of birth when he applies for a French passport. When he obtains these papers, he is shocked to learn that his father was born Fiodor Koltchine in Russia to an unwed mother who was only fifteen at the time, then later Theodore was adopted by his French stepfather, Duhamel. As Nicolas digs further into his father’s past, an idea for a book comes to him. Practically overnight, the book becomes a bestseller and an award-winning film is made from it, plunging Nicolas (now using the pen name Kolt) into the intoxicatingly heady world of the rich and famous. It is all too much too fast for the twenty-nine-year old and he becomes insufferable, alienating friends and family.
As the story begins, Nicolas is spending three days at an exclusive resort on an Italian island with his current girlfriend, where supposedly he is writing his second novel. Instead, everything blows up in his face and circumstances contrive to make him realize what he has become.
Finally, I have to mention that another aspect of the book I enjoyed were all the fascinating tidbits about authors and the act of writing.
I added this book to my to-read list shortly after it was published. I think it languished there because it had received so many one and two-star reviews, mostly because it was being compared so unfavorably to Tatiana de Rosnay’s other books such as Sarah’s Key.
I have to go against the stream and say I actually enjoyed this book. De Rosnay has a captivating writing style that drew me into the storylines she intertwines so successfully. Although the main character, Nicolas Duhamel, was quite often an insufferable jerk, I have to admit, he was still interesting to me and I found myself cutting him some slack because he was only twenty-something and still trying to find himself through many challenging, life-changing situations.
Nicolas Duhamel was eleven when his father, Theodore Duhamel, failed to return from a day sailing at sea. No body was ever found and after a year, he was officially presumed dead. Another blow falls ten years later when Nicolas is required to provide documentation about his family’s places of birth when he applies for a French passport. When he obtains these papers, he is shocked to learn that his father was born Fiodor Koltchine in Russia to an unwed mother who was only fifteen at the time, then later Theodore was adopted by his French stepfather, Duhamel. As Nicolas digs further into his father’s past, an idea for a book comes to him. Practically overnight, the book becomes a bestseller and an award-winning film is made from it, plunging Nicolas (now using the pen name Kolt) into the intoxicatingly heady world of the rich and famous. It is all too much too fast for the twenty-nine-year old and he becomes insufferable, alienating friends and family.
As the story begins, Nicolas is spending three days at an exclusive resort on an Italian island with his current girlfriend, where supposedly he is writing his second novel. Instead, everything blows up in his face and circumstances contrive to make him realize what he has become.
Finally, I have to mention that another aspect of the book I enjoyed were all the fascinating tidbits about authors and the act of writing.
September 12, 2015
La verdad es que no sé como plasmar lo que me transmitió este libro. Lo intentaré.
Primero que todo tienen que saber que es un libro que para muchas personas será un libro más en sus vidas. La narrativa no es una maravilla, los personajes no son muy queridos y sin duda tiene algunos elementos bien falsos dentro de la historia, además de ser poco acertados, como el final.
Quizá se pregunten entonces ¿por qué le pongo cinco estrellas? pues porque es esos libros que te enseñan un poco más de ti mismo. Fue un espejo y me hizo cuestionarme cosas que no estaban escritas en el papel, pero me dio las referencias para pensarlo. Me gustó el libro porque me llegó en cierto sentido. Me hizo darme cuenta del modo de vida de algunos cercanos y de mi mismo. Tinta rusa no está pensado para hacerte reflexionar pero por alguna razón lo logró conmigo. Quizá a otra persona no le provoque nada y lo comprenderé cien por ciento. Estoy consciente de sus carencias. Pero la sensación que me hizo vivir muy pocos libros lo han logrado, por no decir el único.
Si no me hubiera transmitido ese mensaje que sigue dando vuelta en mi cabeza pues la verdad le habría puesto tres estrellas. Quizá fue el momento indicado para mi, no lo sé. Puede que en un futuro lo lea y lo encuentre pésimo. Solo el tiempo lo dirá.
Si recomiendo este libro pues la verdad es que si. Pero te digo desde ya que te encontrarás con un libro del montón. Es rápido, ligero y hasta cómico.
Las cinco estrellas solo las entenderé yo. O eso creo.
Primero que todo tienen que saber que es un libro que para muchas personas será un libro más en sus vidas. La narrativa no es una maravilla, los personajes no son muy queridos y sin duda tiene algunos elementos bien falsos dentro de la historia, además de ser poco acertados, como el final.
Quizá se pregunten entonces ¿por qué le pongo cinco estrellas? pues porque es esos libros que te enseñan un poco más de ti mismo. Fue un espejo y me hizo cuestionarme cosas que no estaban escritas en el papel, pero me dio las referencias para pensarlo. Me gustó el libro porque me llegó en cierto sentido. Me hizo darme cuenta del modo de vida de algunos cercanos y de mi mismo. Tinta rusa no está pensado para hacerte reflexionar pero por alguna razón lo logró conmigo. Quizá a otra persona no le provoque nada y lo comprenderé cien por ciento. Estoy consciente de sus carencias. Pero la sensación que me hizo vivir muy pocos libros lo han logrado, por no decir el único.
Si no me hubiera transmitido ese mensaje que sigue dando vuelta en mi cabeza pues la verdad le habría puesto tres estrellas. Quizá fue el momento indicado para mi, no lo sé. Puede que en un futuro lo lea y lo encuentre pésimo. Solo el tiempo lo dirá.
Si recomiendo este libro pues la verdad es que si. Pero te digo desde ya que te encontrarás con un libro del montón. Es rápido, ligero y hasta cómico.
Las cinco estrellas solo las entenderé yo. O eso creo.
September 30, 2014
The author bio indicates she's written ten books. The only other book I've read of this author was Sarah's Key, a novel I loved. Pity the poor reader who uses that novel as a means of deciding whether to read another of hers, like I did.
This book is about a writer, VERY self-absorbed who writes a huge international successful novel about his family's secret. Flash back to his finding out about that secret, which we really don't find out until the end, and it's not a bombshell. By the time you find out, you really don't care.
This character is not well fleshed out at all. He has NO redeeming qualities. The amount of sexual thinking and "doing" is very overdone and unnecessary!
I can't even believe this book was by the same author, and she's definitely riding on the coattails of Sarah's Key. It was almost as if this book was written by another person.
I can't believe I finished it. I have no idea why I bothered to finish it. Deplorable writing, and story.
This book is about a writer, VERY self-absorbed who writes a huge international successful novel about his family's secret. Flash back to his finding out about that secret, which we really don't find out until the end, and it's not a bombshell. By the time you find out, you really don't care.
This character is not well fleshed out at all. He has NO redeeming qualities. The amount of sexual thinking and "doing" is very overdone and unnecessary!
I can't even believe this book was by the same author, and she's definitely riding on the coattails of Sarah's Key. It was almost as if this book was written by another person.
I can't believe I finished it. I have no idea why I bothered to finish it. Deplorable writing, and story.
July 17, 2014
This author's books can be very uneven. Like most of the reading world, I loved Sarah's Key. A Secret Kept wasn't very interesting to me, and The House I Loved was captivating.
This book was less captivating. I found the main character Nicolas to be unsympathetic, with his Tweets, Facebook updates and pissy little need to be constantly recognized and therefore validated. I was onside with his old friends in that way. I thought the book had a few neat twists, such as the revelations about the Russian family. The bit with the cruise ship was, to say the least, contrived.
Overall, not a bad summer read, but don't expect much emotional impact.
This book was less captivating. I found the main character Nicolas to be unsympathetic, with his Tweets, Facebook updates and pissy little need to be constantly recognized and therefore validated. I was onside with his old friends in that way. I thought the book had a few neat twists, such as the revelations about the Russian family. The bit with the cruise ship was, to say the least, contrived.
Overall, not a bad summer read, but don't expect much emotional impact.
March 27, 2024
Wauw. Eeuwen geleden dat ik iets van Tatiana de Rosnay heb gelezen maar wauw, deze was echt echt heel mooi. Er lijkt heel weinig te gebeuren, eigenlijk is het een verslag van hoe een schrijver zijn zonden overdenkt, maar tegelijkertijd zijn er echt heel veel complexe lagen: over ijdelheid en roem, over het zoeken naar wie je bent als iedereen je op een bepaalde manier kent, over de ongelooflijk pijnlijke weerslag die je familie op je identiteit kan hebben, over de kracht van verhalen vertellen die vitaal belangrijk voor je zijn en over inspiratie. Het is enorm boeiend, heeft een fijn tempo en een decor dat de thema’s nog eens extra aanzet, en ik heb er echt van genoten. Er blijven wat vragen over, maar door het sterke persoonlijke perspectief - dat tegelijkertijd af en toe heel subtiel wisselt waardoor je kleine glimpjes krijgt van andere personages - weet je evenveel als Nicolas en dat maakt het heel authentiek juist door het ongrijpbare. Echt een heel knap boek, chapeau voor de schrijfster dat ze alles zo realistisch en kloppend heeft weten te maken terwijl er zoveel speelt.
August 3, 2019
1.5 rating. If this book were to ever win an award it would be for having the most commas in it! So many sentences went on and on, naming people or expressing random thoughts in the main character’s head. I swear one of the sentences had to be a half page long! Overall the story was boring, with its main character Nicolas being an arrogant author who became famous world-wide after his first novel. He escapes to a wealthy resort in France with his girlfriend that he basically has no interest in. But he keeps busy by constantly building himself up in his head and thinking of all the girls that he had been with or are still in his life. He even has a continual sexting chain with a lady he only met once at a book signing. The only redeeming factor in this book was hidden secrets about the father that raised him, but even that proved to be confusing at best. I have read other books by this author and liked them, but not this one.
January 15, 2020
Could not finish. HORRIBLY bad writing. I see I'm not alone in this opinion, as the current average rating on GR is 2.71.
May 19, 2014
This is my fourth Tatiana de Rosnay book and, honestly, my least favorite. It's very slow compared to her other books. The entire book is a character's quest for information that he really never gets and how he fills in the holes in his own mystery and turns it into a novel. While midway through the book, I was finally caught up in the intrigue of the protagonist's heritage, there is very little action until the last 15 or so pages.
This book took place completely in the protagonist's mind, and he's not a very likeable character. He's an egomaniac one-hit wonder of an author, who is resting on the laurels of the best-selling book he wrote four years prior to the story's onset. He is pompous, arrogant, materialistic ... fame has turned him into a grown-up brat who has alienated everyone he once loved. And throughout the book, despite several people berating him for his selfish, wasteful ways and lack of thoughtfulness, there is very little growth on his part. ... until the end, which is the literary equivalent of "the butler did it."
Something happens in the last 20 or so pages that we are led to believe will change his life for the better. But it's not very believable. The character risks his own life in a way I don't believe he would. It's like de Rosnay tried to make him into a superhero in the 11th hour -- someone who steps up to the plat and saves both strangers and his own soul. The ending seems tacked on by an author who couldn't figure out how to resolve her semi lack of plot. I found this book disappointing.
This book took place completely in the protagonist's mind, and he's not a very likeable character. He's an egomaniac one-hit wonder of an author, who is resting on the laurels of the best-selling book he wrote four years prior to the story's onset. He is pompous, arrogant, materialistic ... fame has turned him into a grown-up brat who has alienated everyone he once loved. And throughout the book, despite several people berating him for his selfish, wasteful ways and lack of thoughtfulness, there is very little growth on his part. ... until the end, which is the literary equivalent of "the butler did it."
Something happens in the last 20 or so pages that we are led to believe will change his life for the better. But it's not very believable. The character risks his own life in a way I don't believe he would. It's like de Rosnay tried to make him into a superhero in the 11th hour -- someone who steps up to the plat and saves both strangers and his own soul. The ending seems tacked on by an author who couldn't figure out how to resolve her semi lack of plot. I found this book disappointing.
April 23, 2014
De Rosnay's novel describes the events of Nicholas that led to his first novel which became a best seller, and how he became engrossed in the fame that it brought to him.
I did not care for the format of this book. The novel centered around that Nicholas had already published, filmed, and was now in writers-block (i.e. laziness) in developing his second novel. His character was selfish and arrogant. The novel also time-jumped a lot describing Nicholas' life events that he based his writing upon as well as current day. After reading the novel, I would have preferred the story to be centered around his discovery that led him to writing his book as well as the demise of his relationship.
Please do not base De Rosnay's writing off of this novel. Her other novels are beautifully researched and written.
I did not care for the format of this book. The novel centered around that Nicholas had already published, filmed, and was now in writers-block (i.e. laziness) in developing his second novel. His character was selfish and arrogant. The novel also time-jumped a lot describing Nicholas' life events that he based his writing upon as well as current day. After reading the novel, I would have preferred the story to be centered around his discovery that led him to writing his book as well as the demise of his relationship.
Please do not base De Rosnay's writing off of this novel. Her other novels are beautifully researched and written.
October 16, 2014
Sarah's Key, the debut novel of Tatiana de Rosnay, was an amazing book. I LOVED it. When I saw that a newer book of hers was available to download and listen to I thought I was pretty darn lucky.
I feel terrible saying this, but I think I know why the audio was available to download. I think that might be part of the problem with my feelings about this book. It seems that the book is one continuous story that goes back and forth in time with no clear definition of when you are in the past or the present.
My other issue with this book was the narcissistic personality of the main character. What a prick. Could not stand the main character and in fact, I still don't even understand entirely what the story was about.
I was waiting for it to all come together and it fell flat. I'm extremely disappointed in this book.
I feel terrible saying this, but I think I know why the audio was available to download. I think that might be part of the problem with my feelings about this book. It seems that the book is one continuous story that goes back and forth in time with no clear definition of when you are in the past or the present.
My other issue with this book was the narcissistic personality of the main character. What a prick. Could not stand the main character and in fact, I still don't even understand entirely what the story was about.
I was waiting for it to all come together and it fell flat. I'm extremely disappointed in this book.
February 10, 2015
**edited: I changed it to 1 star. Maybe I'm just feeling less than generous tonight, but after discussing the book today....it really was pretty bad.**
Rounding up from 1.5 starts because I really hate giving 1 star ratings. After an excruciatingly slow start, an intriguing family secret is revealed, making me think the book was going to actually go somewhere. But no. Absolutely. Nothing. Happens. For almost the entire book. The main character--who is immensely unlikable--spends the entire time whining about how hard it is to be him. He gets recognized everywhere and it's oh-so-burdensome....or he doesn't get recognized at all, and don't these people KNOW who he IS?!?! It's just so hard to be him. Then at the VERY end, something huge and completely unrelated to the story happens to lead him change his ways. The intriguing family secret? Barely touched again. Boring as hell.
Rounding up from 1.5 starts because I really hate giving 1 star ratings. After an excruciatingly slow start, an intriguing family secret is revealed, making me think the book was going to actually go somewhere. But no. Absolutely. Nothing. Happens. For almost the entire book. The main character--who is immensely unlikable--spends the entire time whining about how hard it is to be him. He gets recognized everywhere and it's oh-so-burdensome....or he doesn't get recognized at all, and don't these people KNOW who he IS?!?! It's just so hard to be him. Then at the VERY end, something huge and completely unrelated to the story happens to lead him change his ways. The intriguing family secret? Barely touched again. Boring as hell.
September 10, 2014
This story is boring -- it is a re hasse of several plots for other stories and uses recent news stories as a base for the ending. There where two quotes that made me take note:…creativity…can not be willed…imagination produces creativity; creativity comes when it comes and is beyond one’s personal control.and "when there is no corpus,...no coffin, no undertaker, no grave, no mass(service), no obituary;It is hard to accept that someone is dead."
This is the second book from her I've read will not read again.
This is the second book from her I've read will not read again.
October 20, 2014
Un tres tres tres bon roman! J'ai passe un tres bon moment!
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