The Foundling

The Foundling has enough plot to count as a page-turner, yet it still surprises with occasional profundities... Desarthe's portrayal of a young woman devastated by grief is potent... translator Adriana Hunter's rendering of the prose is flawless -- Arifa Akbar * Independent *
A superb study of grief that is both personal and national; a heartbreaking twist reveals the unspoken origin of Jerome's first name in a country full of buried tragedies. Brilliant and devastating -- Kate Saunders * The Times *
Desarthe's novel asks how adults and children alike survive emotional pain - through forgetting or remembering? A dream-like book -- Adrian Turpin * Financial Times *
An intriguing and charming novel, caught somewhere between real life and waking dream. Bewitching * Elle *
This sensitively translated novel is an insightful portrayal of emotional reawakening... incisive, lyrical and gently humorous -- Natasha Blumenthal * Jewish Quarterly *
A complex story of how random events can bring powerful change into a seemingly settled life, launching it in unexpected new directions... the book reads elegantly and seamlessly... deserves to be successful -- Tom Cunliffe * A Common Reader blog *
Desarthe's quirky French bestseller is conceived in hazy, impressionistic prose that occasionally feels like one is reading through a fine mist, but it captures the ennui of the featureless country town -- Alfred Hickling * Guardian *
One of the marvels of the literary season * Version Femina *
At the same time sombre and luminous, disturbing and soothing, Desarthe's latest novel surprises and enchants. A magnificent tale * Page *
In the moments when Jerome claws into the soil with his bare hands, digging for his identity, you can understand The Foundling's success in France -- Ben Felsenburg * Metro *
Desarthe charms with her delicate dissection of the human heart -- Emma Hagestadt * Independent *