In 1949, a young couple, Arnaud and Lucie Borja, leave the war-torn streets of Paris and head south, to the sleepy village of Canas where they have bought an old chateau and vineyard - a place, as Arnaud Borja says, for them to create a family and set up a business selling their own wine. Half a century later, the chateau is up for sale, the vines have gone to seed, and an English woman, holidaying nearby with her husband, has no idea that her interest in the derelict property is spreading rumours in the village. For Kate Glover, life in Canas offers a promise of change - an escape from a stifling marriage, and her relentless urban existence. What she cannot see, behind the apparently tranquil chateau walls, is the truth about the Borja family and the tragic legacy of their child, adopted from migrant workers in the 1950s, and later forced to leave in shame. Natalie Young's entrancing debut novel, set in the shimmering landscape of the southern Cevennes, alternates between the years immediately after the Second World War and the present-day to explore a dark family secret and its ripple effect on people's lives. It is a story of love and ownership, thwarted desire, and the damage done when the truth is withheld.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"The past grabs hold and will not let you go in this uncanny and beautiful novel. Strange and delicious in the manner of Rebecca." Sarah Blake, author of The Postmistress "Poised, well-written, richly detailed." - Ben Okri "We All Ran Into the Sunlight is the sort of intricate invention that only a few masters - like Ian McEwan or Graham Greene - could assemble. This novel will mesmerize you - and it will break your heart." Stefan Merrill Block, author of The Story of Forgetting "Bold and original... Natalie Young captures beautifully the character of a small French town, porous to every drop of gossip but presenting an impenetrable surface to outsiders." Helen Dunmore "Natalie Young has created a near-Gothic story of obsession and desire, set against the background of a sinister chateau. Definitely not for the faint-hearted... A true tour de force." Mavis Cheek
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Natalie Young has worked for The Times for several years. She has two children and lives in London. This is her first novel.
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