A Very Long Engagement: A Novel By Sebastien Japrisot – Save 20% Today!
Why Buy A A Very Long Engagement: A Novel By Sebastien Japrisot?
January 1917: five French soldiers are marched to their own front lines where they will be tossed out into no mans land with their hands tied behind their backs and left for the Germans to shoot. They were, in civilian life, variously a pimp, a mechanic, a farmer, a carpenter, and a fisherman; now they are condemned because each had sought to leave the war by shooting himself in the hand. Taken to a godforsaken trench nicknamed Bingo Crépuscule, the five are reluctantly sent out into the darkness; days later, five bodies are recovered and the families are notified, merely, that the men died in the line of duty.
August 1919: Mathilde Donnay receives a letter from a dying man. In it, the former soldier tells her that he met her beloved fiancé, the fisherman Manech, shortly before he died. Mathilde goes to meet Sergeant Daniel Esperanza at his hospital and there hears the story of the execution. She also receives a package with a photograph of the men and copies of their last letters. As Mathilde reads and rereads the letters and goes over Esperanzas tale, she begins to suspect that perhaps the story didnt end quite so neatly. And so begins her very long investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths of five condemned prisoners–one of whom, at least, might not really be dead.
In Mathilde Donnay, Sebastien Japrisot has created one of the most compelling and delightful heroines in modern fiction. Though confined to a wheelchair since childhood, Mathilde has other lives, varied and quite beautiful ones. She paints, cares for her pets, enjoys a rich fantasy life, and is relentless in her search for the truth about Manechs death. But she is by no means the only vibrant personality leaping off Japrisots pages. This author has a remarkable ability to draw even minor characters in three dimensions with economy and wit. Take Mathildes mother, for instance, caught in mid-card game: At bridge, manille, bezique, Mama is a dirty rotten swine. Not only is she an ace with the pasteboards, but she throws her opponents off their mettle by insulting or making fun of them. And even the characters we meet only through other peoples memories–the condemned men–are so fully realized that you find yourself torn over which one you hope may have survived. As Mathilde comes ever closer to solving the mystery of what happened at Bingo Crépuscule that January morning in 1917, Sebastien Japrisot proves himself a master storyteller and A Very Long Engagement a near perfect novel. –Alix Wilber
Over 79 5-Star Customer Reviews On Amazon!
Great Movie, Better Book
I’m one of those people who never watches the movie first. The book is simply the better experience, and it’s lessened, typically, by having seen the film first.
That truism didn’t exactly hold for A Very Long Engagement. I actually saw the movie first (didn’t know there was a novel at the time), and I loved it. I watched it twice and immediately recommended it to my friends. About a year later, then, I happened upon the book and picked up a free copy. I doubted that I’d ever read it, but one rainy day, I picked it up. Before that day was over I was finished.
The movie does follow the novel very closely, but I was still swept away. The mystery is so complex, and yet tight and logical. Once you’re grabbed by it, you must follow it through to the end. The characters, especially Mathilde and Manech (who we’ve gotten to know through memory), are so engaging.
Mainly though, it’s just so hopeful. I think that’s what got me each time I’ve experienced the story, the romantic notion that no matter how absurd and confused and sorrowful and illogical this life can seem, perhaps truth and love at least have a fighting chance.
I think everyone needs to be told that sort of story every once in a while. This one does it awfully well.
One of my favorite reads of aall-time
“Once upon a time, there were five French Soldiers who had gone off to war, because that’s the way of the world.” So begins Sebastien Japrisot’s haunting novel which chronicles not only the horrors of war and the endurance of love, but the ways in which World War 1 forever changed the lives of those who were caught up in the conflict.
I have already read this book several times. For some reason, I seem to find myself returning to it every few years. Japrisot’s writing is so beautiful and flows so well in translation (the novel was originally written in French) that it makes me want to take language lessons so that I could enjoy his writing in his native language.
The story concerns Mathilde Donnay, an intelligent and strong-willed protagonist who happens to be confined to a wheelchair because of an early childhood injury. Don’t let this detail bother you, as it certainly doesn’t bother Mathilde. She has far too many fish to fry to let a little thing like partial paralysis get in her way. As a young girl, Mathilde formed a lasting friendship with a boy named Manech, who became her fiancee after their childhood friendship developed into a strong and loving relationship. At the tender age of 19, Manech was sent off to the war, serving as an infantryman on the front of the French lines. Literally driven past the point of endurance by the horrors he has witnessed, Manech arranges for an accommodating soldier in German trench to shoot him in the hand. Manech is sentenced to death for this self-mutilation, along with four other soldiers. Their sentence is to be thrown into no-man’s land, the space between the French and German trenches, with no weapons and their hands tied behind their backs. What happened to Manech and his fellow inmates becomes a mystery, one which Mathilde is not willing to let remain unsolved, and spends seven years trying to uncover. In pursuing this mystery she will uncover not only Manech’s ultimate fate, but also learn the stories of those who witnessed it.
This is such a beautiful novel, and Mathilde is such a likable character. Each time I read it I find myself furiously turning the pages, hoping for a resolution to lives that were so unfairly interrupted.
Very engaging mystery
I love the book. I couldn’t wait to see the movie. I must admit the movie fell flat. Don’t waste your time with movie, but definitely read the novel. It is set during and just after WWI. Wheelchair-bound Mathilde Donnay is told that her fiancé has died honorably during the war. She notices discrepancies in the official story and is convinced that her fiancé is still alive. This is a love story set in a historical setting, but what I loved about the novel was the mystery or I should say mysteries because there are several in this novel that Mathilde must solve. I really admired Mathilde’s tenacity to find the truth about her fiancé. The twists and turns this story took while investigating her fiancés whereabouts and the mysteries that are discovered and solved during this time really keep you guessing about what actually happened to her fiancé right up to the end of the novel. I read this novel in 2 days, something I haven’t done in quite some time.
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