Trois

Three friends, Adrien, Étienne and Nina, meet at school in a small French town in the 1980s and become inseparable. Thirty years later, a journalist, Virginie, sees Adrien in Paris, and the story moves back and forth between the teenage years and the present. The fates of the three come into focus as Valérie Perrin shows how love and friendship shape a life. Her novel carries a mystery through its long, patient chapters.

Readers who enjoy contemporary French fiction that mixes nostalgia with suspense will like its warm voice. It is a good book for anyone interested in long friendships and what can pull them apart.

Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?