The balcony /
What if our homes could tell the stories of others who lived there before us? Set in a small village near Paris, The Balcony follows the inhabitants of a single estate, including a manor and a servants' cottage, over the course of several generations, from the Belle Époque to the present day, i...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Little, Brown and Company,
[2018]
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| Edition: | First edition. |
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| Summary: | What if our homes could tell the stories of others who lived there before us? Set in a small village near Paris, The Balcony follows the inhabitants of a single estate, including a manor and a servants' cottage, over the course of several generations, from the Belle Époque to the present day, introducing us to a fascinating cast of characters. A young American au pair develops a crush on her brilliant employer. An ex-courtesan shocks the servants, a Jewish couple in hiding from the Gestapo attract the curiosity of the neighbors and a housewife begins an affair while renovating her downstairs. Rich and poor, young and old, powerful and persecuted, all of these people are seeking something, meaning, love, a new beginning or merely survival. Throughout, cross-generational connections and troubled legacies haunt the same spaces, so that the rose garden, the forest pond and the balcony off the manor's third floor bedroom become silent witnesses to a century of human drama. In her debut, Jane Delury writes with masterful economy and profound wisdom about growing up, growing old, marriage, infidelity, motherhood, in other words, about life, weaving a gorgeous tapestry of relationships, life-altering choices and fleeting moments across the frame of the twentieth century. A sumptuous narrative of place that burrows deep into individual lives to reveal hidden regrets, resentments and desires, The Balcony is brimming with compassion, natural beauty and unmistakable humanity. |
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| Physical Description: | 244 pages ; 22 cm. |
| ISBN: | 9780316554671 0316554677 |