A number 1 bestseller in France and translated into over twenty-five languages, Billie is one of the most beloved French novels to be published in recent years. A brilliant evocation of contemporary Paris and a moving tale of friendship, Anna Gavalda’s new novel tells the story of two young people, Billie and Franck, who, as the story opens, are trapped in a gorge in the Cévennes Mountains. Billie begins to tell stories from their lives in order to calm herself and Franck as darkness encroaches.In alternating episodes, the novel moves between recollections of the two characters’ childhoods and their dire predicament.
Franck’s life has been impacted by a childhood spent with a perennially unemployed father who toyed with Christian extremism and a mother aestheticized by antidepressants.
A bright kid, Franck’s future was menaced at every turn by the bigotry surrounding him. As for Billie, her abiding wish as an adult is to avoid ever having to come into contact with her family again. To escape from her abusive and alcohol-addled family, she was willing to do anything and everything. The wounds have not entirely healed.
At the heart of Gavalda’s moving story lies a generosity of spirit that will take readers’ breath away, and an unshakable belief in the power of art to lift the most fragile among us to new vistas from which they can see futures full of hope, love, and dignity. Billie is a beautifully crafted novel for readers of all ages and from all walks of life that conveys a positive message about overcoming life’s trials and tribulations.
It's extremely hard to write a proper review of this book. It was such a nice little gem.
This is a novel about life, death and everything in between; friendship, love, growing up, finding yourself etc. I thought I had the ending figured out from the beginning, but it turned out I didn't. Not at all. I did not see that one coming. And still, I sit here now, thinking that it was the way it could have ended. It tied up everything.
The writing of this book is what really mattered to me. Normally, I don't really care, but this book was so special that I had to reread quite a few sentences to get to experience their beauty and depth. It was easy to read, but it made me think about life (and death), and so it took me a little while.
This book is so true to life. This book matters to me. The story, the writing, everything. A heartwarming story, that's for sure.
