The Latecomer
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Désiré Cordier – mild-mannered former librarian, put-upon husband, lover of boules – is losing his mind. Or is he? Happily tucked away in the Winterlight Home for the Elderly, Désiré is looking forward to a quiet retirement with the other forgetful residents, safe in the knowledge that no one knows he’s faking his memory loss. Perhaps, he thinks, this might even be his chance to rekindle his childhood romance with the once – beautiful Rosa Rozendaal – the love of his youth, the one who got away.
But dementia isn’t all fun and games. There’s a former war criminal hiding out in the home; Rosa might be too far gone to return Désiré’s ardour; and our hero soon begins to suspect he’s not the only one in winterlight who’s acting a part…
A tender love story of demented minds and honourable hearts, and a razor-sharp satire of the indignities of old age and the callousness of caregiving, The Latecomer excoriates our society and asks: might we all be better off forgetting?
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
A story of a man, mild-mannered former librarian, Désiré, who is faking dementia because he wants his family to send him to a retirement home. A tender love story of demented minds and honourable hearts, and a razor-sharp satire of the indignities of old age and the callousness of caregiving.