One Hour of Fervor
ABOUT
THE BOOK
From the best-selling author of The Elegance of the Hedgehog comes a story of one man’s promise to keep a secret that will keep him at a remove from the greatest joy in his life. In her poetically precise prose, Muriel Barbery explores beauty and the deep love of a father, but also captures the darkness that pushes people apart.
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
Set in Kyoto, Japan, in 1970 Haru Ueno, art dealer and aesthete, has a ten-night affair with a French woman, Maud, whose cold detachment profoundly attracts and confounds him. Never telling Haru, Maud abruptly leaves Japan and it is only after returning to France that she writes to tell him she is pregnant with their child. He is not to contact her or she will kill herself. He respects her warning, but is shaken by her admonishment and by news of her pregnancy. Intrinsic to the perplexing plot, Muriel Barbery has created a meditative parable about life and art that elegantly and subtly weaves themes from current and ancient Japanese and Western cultures. Plot, character development and divine poetic syntax are a fine match for the aesthetic appreciation of Haru Ueno and his awakening to the complexities of love and friendship.