
2018 Longlist
The Island of Books
Translated from the French by Rhonda Mullins
ABOUT
THE BOOK
A rich portrait of the beauty of words – painted by a 15th-century illiterate scribe.
A 15th-century portrait painter, grieving the sudden death of his lover, takes refuge at the monastery at Mont Saint-Michel, an island off the coast of France. He haunts the halls until a monk assigns him the task of copying a manuscript – though he is illiterate. His work slowly heals him and continues the tradition that had, centuries earlier, grown the monastery’s library into a beautiful city of books, all under the shadow of the invention of the printing press.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Dominique Fortier offers here a very delicate and personal book, trying to catch the spirit of such a magnificent place as the Mont St-Michel. The novel is a tribute to books and freedom.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Date published
08/11/2016
Publisher
Coach House Books
Translator
Rhonda Mullins
Translation
Translated from the French by Rhonda Mullins
Nominating Library