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2012 Nominated

Consolation

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ABOUT
THE BOOK

An international bestseller and French publishing sensation Consolation is a dazzling, heartbreaking tale of one man, two remarkable women and an unforgettable transvestite. Charles Balanda is forty-seven; a successful architect, he is constantly on the move. But from the moment he hears about the death of the woman he once loved – Anouk, the tragically big-hearted mother of a childhood friend – his life begins to unravel until, one day, he finds himself on a Paris pavement covered in blood. But fate brings him one final chance to be happy in Kate, an enchanting young woman, herself damaged but fearless and in love with life. The resulting story is a triumphant, spellbinding and ultimately consoling novel about the power of a second chance. (From Publisher)

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Anna
Gavalda

Anna Gavalda is an internationally acclaimed bestselling author, widely regarded as one of France’s newest literary stars. Her works include I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere and Hunting and Gathering. A former high school French teacher and mother of two, she lives outside of Paris.

Anna Gavalda is an internationally acclaimed bestselling author, widely regarded as one of France’s newest literary stars. Her works include I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere and Hunting and Gathering. A former high school French teacher and mother of two, she lives outside of Paris.

ABOUT
THE TRANSLATOR Alison
Anderson

Alison Anderson’s translations for Europa Editions include novels by Sélim Nassib, Amélie Nothomb, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. She is the translator of Muriel Barbery’s New York Times bestseller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Alison Anderson’s translations for Europa Editions include novels by Sélim Nassib, Amélie Nothomb, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. She is the translator of Muriel Barbery’s New York Times bestseller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

Born in 1970, Anna Gavalda was a teacher whose collection of stories, I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere, shot her to fame. Her work, including another short novel, has been translated into thirty-six languages. The mother of two small children, she lives and writes just outside Paris

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Country
France
Original Language
French
Author
Translator
Alison Anderson

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