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A Secret Kept

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I never got around to reading Tatiana de Rosnay’s first novel, Sarah’s Key, so I grabbed at the opportunity to read her second novel, A Secret Kept (or actually to hear it on audiobook). I started listening to it the day after I received it, and the way the story unfolded kept me interested and looking for any excuse to squeeze in a few minutes of listening (great motivation to get some housework done!).

Antoine Rey is a divorced father of two trying to get over his ex-wife, navigating ennui with his job as an architect and the struggles of parenting teenagers (ACK!). I found him to be slightly wimpy, but as the story progresses, I come to realize that he’s not really wimpy, just tired and disappointed with life.

A Secret Kept begins in the hospital. Antoine’s sister Melanie has been taken to the hospital after getting in an accident while driving home from a special trip they took together to celebrate Melanie’s 40th birthday.

They visited Noirmourtier, the place they vacationed as children until the death of their mother. While they are there, they talk about their past and present lives. It is here that memories are dredged up about their mother and her death.

The single-woman-turning-40 angle is another theme that has great contemporary interest, and I don’t know when I’ve read a book that portrayed the functional relationship between a brother and sister so well.

I have a feeling that this story is quite different from her first novel. It is slightly dark, dealing with family secrets and personal disappointments, but it is very contemporary. The issues addressed will be familiar to anyone, in any industrialized country, even though it takes place in France.

Notes on the Audiobook: The male narrator Simon Vance (who I just noticed also narrates the audio versions of Stieg Larsson’s wildly popular books) does a great job telling this story in a voice that I think suits and describes Antoine well, slightly mousey, yet in a way that garners sympathy or empathy. He also voices the females quite well.

This is a fairly slow-moving story, in spite of all the secrets and surprises that are unfurled, and while the slow pace of such a character-driven novel sometimes is frustrating as I am reading, I love to listen to these types of stories on audiobook (See my review of Home: A Novel by Marianne Robinson for another example of this).

Since I am not French, nor can I pronounce or read French, I enjoyed the European (British?)-accented narrator’s ability to rattle off French names and places that I would have skimmed over if I was reading it. It helped the story maintain its sense of place for me.

The book/audio book doesn’t release until September 14, but we have a copy to give away to one of you, as well as a bonus audiobook of Tatiana de Rosnay’s first novel, Sarah’s Key.

Leave a comment if you’d like to win (U.S. residents only). One of you will receive both audiobooks. We’ll announce the winner on September 15. The giveaway is closed.

These giveaways closed last week, and the winners are

Check out our current giveaways. Subscribe to our feed. Follow us @5M4B on Twitter.

Jennifer Donovan is such a fan of audiobooks. If you aren’t, why not? Read more of her strong opinions at her blog Snapshot.

Comments

  1. Hmm…I’m just starting to use audiobooks. I still prefer to read than to listen, but I’m getting used to it. I don’t take a lot of long car rides, but I am experimenting with listening while exercising. If I want to know what happens next, maybe I’ll be more likely to get to the gym. 🙂

  7. I’d love to listen to something other than non-fiction (work stuff!) while I’m on the bus. Thank you for the review and giveaway!

  8. What a great giveaway. I love listening to books on my way to work and home. It helps make the traffic less of a stress 🙂

  9. I love audio’s and we were just talking about this book in my book club yesterday so I would love to win this one.

  13. Ooh pick me! Ok I know I’m not eligible. 😉 I actually have Sarah’s Key waiting for me at the library, though not on audio. I love when there is a foreign language in an audio book, although I do wish I had the words too so I can see how they are pronounced as well as written. Oh well, can’t win them all! 🙂

  14. I read Sarah’s Key a few weeks ago and was really captivated by it. It’s a sad story, but any storyline set during WWII always speaks to me. I imagine this second novel is just as intriguing, even though the subject matter is different. I rarely listen to audiobooks, but your point about the foreign words makes sense. I skimmed over many of the words and phrases in Sarah’s Key simply because I didn’t know how to pronounce them.

  19. Congrats to the winners and enjoyed the review. have to get my act together and do the audio book thing one day. I think I get to distracted and I’d be tempted to fast forward if the pace is too slow.

  27. Both books sound good. I am having less time to read all the time, and my husband have very little time to read. We have discovered that audio books are the way to go. We get to discuss books now which is a great treat. So much better than me telling him about them.

  33. I loved “Sarah’s Keys” and I’ve been waiting for the author’s next book. This is a great chance to get it!! Thanks

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