"SAGA, story. AMOR, love in Italian. MOR, mort, death in French.
A story of love and death.
Those words, too, fascinate him."
A story of love and death.
Those words, too, fascinate him."
--Tatiana deRosnay, The Other Story
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 320
Publication Date: April 15th, 2014
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Goodreads Description
Vacationing at a luxurious Tuscan island resort, Nicolas Duhamel is hopeful that the ghosts of his past have finally been put to rest… Now a bestselling author, when he was twenty-four years old, he stumbled upon a troubling secret about his family – a secret that was carefully concealed. In shock, Nicholas embarked on a journey to uncover the truth that took him from the Basque coast to St. Petersburg – but the answers wouldn’t come easily.
In the process of digging into his past, something else happened. Nicolas began writing a novel that was met with phenomenal success, skyrocketing him to literary fame whether he was ready for it or not – and convincing him that he had put his family’s history firmly behind him. But now, years later, Nicolas must reexamine everything he thought he knew, as he learns that, however deeply buried, the secrets of the past always find a way out.
Page-turning, layered and beautifully written, Tatiana de Rosnay's THE OTHER STORY is a reflection on identity, the process of being a writer and the repercussions of generations-old decisions as they echo into the present and shape the future.
Vacationing at a luxurious Tuscan island resort, Nicolas Duhamel is hopeful that the ghosts of his past have finally been put to rest… Now a bestselling author, when he was twenty-four years old, he stumbled upon a troubling secret about his family – a secret that was carefully concealed. In shock, Nicholas embarked on a journey to uncover the truth that took him from the Basque coast to St. Petersburg – but the answers wouldn’t come easily.
In the process of digging into his past, something else happened. Nicolas began writing a novel that was met with phenomenal success, skyrocketing him to literary fame whether he was ready for it or not – and convincing him that he had put his family’s history firmly behind him. But now, years later, Nicolas must reexamine everything he thought he knew, as he learns that, however deeply buried, the secrets of the past always find a way out.
Page-turning, layered and beautifully written, Tatiana de Rosnay's THE OTHER STORY is a reflection on identity, the process of being a writer and the repercussions of generations-old decisions as they echo into the present and shape the future.
The Writing Tatiana de Rosnay is a talented writer and it is shown with this book. The descriptions are impeccable, the setting is palpable, the characters (even ones on the very farthest horizon of the story) are fleshed out and given a purpose. I LOVED how she wrote this story. The main character is extremely unlikable. He is an infamous writer of a novel that was turned into an Oscar-winning film and his ego is unlike any other. This guy is vain and not only does he think the song is about him? He'll probably tell you he wrote the song. Even with that said, you start to empathize with him because he KNOWS he's being a miserable prick. There is a part of him that longs to go back to the simplicity...but the better part of him loves the fame and attention. The story really just unfolds in front you.
The Setting The Gallo Nero is the location of our story and all you want while reading is to fall into exorbitant amounts of money to be able to afford to go to this place. It sounds GORGEOUS and is described beautifully. I totally had to Google to see if it was a real place...it's not. As far as I can tell. If it's real let me know, I wanna go.
The Characterization Like I touched on before, the descriptions of the characters is fantastic. The narration describes the surrounding guests in a way that gives them each a personality. Even when they are only mentioned a few times, the way they are written gives them a distinct voice even without speaking. I just felt a very bubble-like experience while reading. Like I, myself, was a guest there and was just watching the story go on.
The Ending I think the ending was really, really unique. I don't know if how I interpreted it was how it was supposed to be, but I really liked how it ended. And it brought a sense of hope and lightness to a story that was pretty self-involved and hopeless.
The Setting The Gallo Nero is the location of our story and all you want while reading is to fall into exorbitant amounts of money to be able to afford to go to this place. It sounds GORGEOUS and is described beautifully. I totally had to Google to see if it was a real place...it's not. As far as I can tell. If it's real let me know, I wanna go.
The Characterization Like I touched on before, the descriptions of the characters is fantastic. The narration describes the surrounding guests in a way that gives them each a personality. Even when they are only mentioned a few times, the way they are written gives them a distinct voice even without speaking. I just felt a very bubble-like experience while reading. Like I, myself, was a guest there and was just watching the story go on.
The Ending I think the ending was really, really unique. I don't know if how I interpreted it was how it was supposed to be, but I really liked how it ended. And it brought a sense of hope and lightness to a story that was pretty self-involved and hopeless.
The Pacing I felt the pacing was a little slow. Some parts of the book went by super quickly and I was totally involved with the story. And then some parts dragged. I got a little bored and wanted the story to pick back up again. Also, with the pacing. I feel like the description paints a false picture of the overall point of the story. I expected to read a story within a story about Nicolas discovering a secret about his father. And I felt like there was a lot of slow and inconsistent build-up about his father and then the actual details were rushed in at the very end. This was really a story about a famous writer and what happens after the initial fame dies down and another novel is expected. I think the description doesn't fit the story and it does the actual a disservice because I was expecting a different book the whole time.
Most Likely If you like adult fiction with fantastic writing this is definitely the book for you. It involves complex characterization and a beautiful setting. If you are looking to delve into the adult world, this book's pace might not agree with you if you're not used to adult books and the amazing slow burn that is adult fiction.
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Okay, so this sounds interesting BUT I haven't read anything by Rosnay before. Is this your first book by her? If it's not, do I want to start with this one or with something else? Be my guide, KELLLLYYYYY.
ReplyDeleteI think you would like this one! Not love but enjoy it. You should TOTALLY read Sarah's Key by her! That I think you would really, really like! Historical fiction and contemporary! :)
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