Pages: 366
Released On: 18/03/2019
The adventure of a young Parisian artist and his dog. A novel of action and reflection; of fidelity and trust; of resilience, love, and the power of art.
Jeremy’s mother is about to go to prison for their debt to the State. He is trying everything within his means to save her, but his options are running out fast. Then Jeremy discovers a treasure under Paris. This discovery may save his mother, but it doesn’t come for free. And he has to ride over several obstacles for his plan to work. Meanwhile, something else is limiting his time…
*****
I want to express my thanks to Estelle Leboucher who offered me this book to read in return for an honest review.
When Estelle emailed me asking if I’d like to read this book by Indrajit Garai, I was tempted to decline as I had a long list of other books waiting to be read and reviewed, but after confirming there was no rush, I accepted and put it on my list. And I’m glad I did as it’s such a lovely book.
I will say, I did get a bit confused by the time period. It mentions phones and cars and computers, so it’s obviously set in modern times, but it has a very classic, old-fashioned, Dickensian type tone to it so that was slightly jarring. But if I’m honest, I almost ignored the modern parts of it and let myself be swept away by the classical elements.
I haven’t been for a long time but I love France and I feel Indrajit has got the description and the feeling of it down perfectly, you can tell he has a love for the country. He shows the beauty of the country but doesn’t hide from the harsher elements.
I admit I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. What I didn’t expect was how emotional I would find it. It’s a real tear-jerker, yes for sad reasons and heartbreaking moments, but also for the hope that fills Jeremy.
It’s written in a very….unusual way. Do I mean unusual? It’s hard to explain really if you haven’t read it. It’s from the point of view of this 12 year old boy and it definitely gives off the feeling that we’re listening to his inner monologue. It’s full of long drawn out paragraphs as well as short, sharp sentences. I wouldn’t necessarily say it did anything to improve upon the story but it didn’t detract it either. I like that the author is trying a multitude of styles.
The protagonist is only 12 and like how he’s been portrayed. He can be a bit naive, juvenile and uninformed but he’s trying to improve himself and his knowledge, and he’s trying all he can to help his mum and I found him quite endearing – although his constant questioning became a bit tedious after a while, but that’s normal for someone his age I suppose.
There are some heavy topics – illness, death, security, safety, physical violence, financial difficulties, financial worries – but they’re handled so sensitively.
Sure, there are a few spelling issues and typos but I don’t really care about them – which is surprising considering how pedantic I am for spelling and grammar issues, but it just didn’t seem to be that much of a problem with this one.
The ending is stunning, really the best bit of the book. It’s hard to read with tears in your eyes but it is really lovely.
Books By Your Bedside 