Clerfayt, a racing driver who survived the war, meets Lillian, a young woman with a serious lung illness who is leaving a sanatorium to experience life before she dies. They fall in love and travel across Europe in the 1950s, from Paris to Rome and the racing circuits, spending money freely and refusing to think about the future. Clerfayt's job, with its constant risk, mirrors Lillian's own fragile hold on time, and the novel keeps both in view as their romance deepens.
Remarque's fans will recognize the mood: a sense that people should live fully while they can. It is a good choice for readers who like romances shadowed by mortality and a postwar setting of speed, glamour and fear.
Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1998
- Publisher
- Kiepenheuer & Witsch
- ISBN
- 9783462027273
- Language
- DE
