Publisher Description

'A word of advice: don't start reading this page-turner at bedtime, or you'll be staying up all night.' Psychologies, France



WINNER OF THE GRAND PRIX DU ROMAN AND THE ACQUI STORIA PRIZE.



Werner Zilch was adopted as an infant, and knows nothing of his biological family. But when, in 1970s New York, he meets the family of Rebecca, the woman he has fallen in love with, a mysterious link means he must uncover the truth of his past, or run the risk of losing her.



Spanning 1945 Dresden, the Bavarian Alps and uncovering Operation Paperclip, this is a riveting novel of family and love, for anyone who loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Storyteller, beautifully translated from French by Adriana Hunter.



'Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre weaves an enigmatic, funny, sensuous web, crossed by characters which we will struggle to forget' Le Figaro

Notes

Trade paperback. Meeting the family of the woman he loves for the first time exposes a connection between the family and adopted Werner's own mysterious origins, making Werner's exploration of his origins a more urgent matter than ever, sending him on a journey to the alps and to Dresden as fact and fiction are combined.

Author Biography

This is Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre's second novel. Her first, Fourrure, won five literary prizes in France.

Le Dernier des Notres was the winner of both the Academie Francaise Grand Prix du Roman and the 2016 inaugural Filigranes prize, awarded to the book with the widest general appeal. It was on the longlist for the 2016 Renaudot prize, on the shortlist of four for the 2016 Landerneau prize, longlisted for the Prix de Flore.

Review

Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre weaves an enigmatic, funny, sensuous web, crossed by characters which we will struggle to forget. - Le Figaro

We've long awaited this elegant, delicate and feverish voice, always ready to tell us of the great romantic destinies of complex, disturbing and passionate characters. - Elle France

A romantic, well-executed bombshell of a book, built like a 1965 Maserati Sebring. - Le Point

Long Description

'A word of advice: don't start reading this page-turner at bedtime, or you'll be staying up all night.' Psychologies , France WINNER OF THE GRAND PRIX DU ROMAN AND THE ACQUI STORIA PRIZE. Werner Zilch was adopted as an infant, and knows nothing of his biological family. But when, in 1970s New York, he meets the family of Rebecca, the woman he has fallen in love with, a mysterious link means he must uncover the truth of his past, or run the risk of losing her. Spanning 1945 Dresden, the Bavarian Alps and uncovering Operation Paperclip, this is a riveting novel of family and love, for anyone who loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Storyteller , beautifully translated from French by Adriana Hunter. 'Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre weaves an enigmatic, funny, sensuous web, crossed by characters which we will struggle to forget' Le Figaro

Review Quote

Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnerre weaves an enigmatic, funny, sensuous web, crossed by characters which we will struggle to forget.

Promotional "Headline"

An impossible love story at a time when everything was possible.

Details