Someone Else

by Alison Huntingford

Despite a traumatic incident in World War 1, Frenchman Pierre Le Brun has had a happy life. Celebrating his 70th birthday with his wife, children and grandchildren he has no idea that his world is about to be shaken to its foundations by matters beyond his control.

When a mysterious telegram arrives Pierre is forced to question his past, his life and his very identity. Will he ever be the same again?

25 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 20, 2020

About the author

Having grown up in Devon I have always had a strong affinity to the county, despite being born elsewhere. All my novels have been inspired by my family history.

I have a degree in Humanities with Literature and have always enjoyed reading, especially the great writers of the 19th Century, such as Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy.

In my spare time, when I’m not writing, I enjoy spending time with my husband, our cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, listening to folk and world music, going to the cinema and trying to grow vegetables, with limited success!

Reviews

[Caroline Born · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this short story. Having written 'short story', I wondered whether that was the most apt description, so I looked it up in Wikipedia: Here's what I got: "The short story is one of the oldest types of literature and has existed in the form of legends, mythic tales, folk tales, fairy tales, fables and anecdotes." Alison Huntingford's "Someone Else" has an element of a folk tale; a long life lived with brief glimpses of a different truth, always denied, some unknown mystery through time. Then, as in a myth, a letter arives that changes everything. It reminds me of poeple discovering their parents are not their biological ones and go on a search. Here there is no search, the emphasis is on the impact of the discovery on a seventy year old man of not being who he thought he was. The story is simply and well told. It makes me wonder how many of the facts were biographical. The truth is always a pull for me and I'd love to know where the line lies between the author's imagination and the truth. I loved the biographical drama film, "Lion", about a poor 5 year old boy in India who lands up on a train that takes him across India for days, and ending up after many adventures, being adopted in Australia, then tracing his family back to his home of origin in India. Right at the end are pictures of all the real people. Its true, what happened.
Although he was someone else, the deep and enduring love between Pierre (or William as he discovers his birth name is) and his wife Veronique dexcribes how that love can be a redemption of healing that counters the huge traumatic discovery.