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    A Very Long Engagement: A Novel
    A Very Long Engagement: A Novel
    A Very Long Engagement: A Novel
    Audiobook5 hours

    A Very Long Engagement: A Novel

    Written by Sébastien Japrisot

    Narrated by Isabel Keating

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Now a major motion picture from Amelie's director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and featuring Audrey Tautou and Jodie Foster comes a very different love story: A Very Long Engagement based on the acclaimed novel by Sébastien Japrisot

    A runaway bestseller in France and winner of the 1991 Prix Interallié, Sébastien Japrisot's novel about World War I was acclaimed as "a latter-day War and Peace" by The New York Times.

    Set during and after the First World War, A Very Long Engagement is the tale of a young woman's search for her fiancé who she believes might still be alive despite having officially been reported as "killed in the line of duty." Unable to walk since childhood, fearless Mathilde Donnay is undeterred in her quest as she scours the country for information about five wounded French soldiers who were brutally abandoned by their own troops. A Very Long Engagement is a mystery, a love story, and an extraordinary portrait of life in France before and after the War.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateNov 1, 2004
    ISBN9781593975678
    A Very Long Engagement: A Novel
    Author

    Sébastien Japrisot

    Sébastien Japrisot (4 July 1931 – 4 March 2003) was a French author, screenwriter and film director, born in Marseille. His pseudonym was an anagram of Jean-Baptiste Rossi, his real name. Japrisot has been nicknamed “the Graham Greene of France”. One Deadly Summer was made into a film starring Isabelle Adjani in 1983. A Very Long Engagement was an international bestseller, won the Prix Interallié and was later also made into a film starring Audrey Tatou in 2004.

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    Reviews for A Very Long Engagement

    4/5

    356 ratings13 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This is the story of five French soldiers who mutilated themselves to avoid front line service and were summarily executed by being cast bound into no mans land. The fiancee of one of the men sets out to discover what really happened and whether her lover is actually dead. A moving and harrowing tale of war, cruelty and love.
    • 3/5
      Very good historical from the point of view of a crippled woman who is trying to find out what happened to her fiancee in World War One France. Sort of a mystery too as facts unfold.
    • 4/5
      While there is a cornucopia of novels out there about World War II, stories about The Great War are just a bit harder to find. Told in a deeply atmospheric style, as if remembering a dream, or looking at color photos faded to sepia, this tale “stuck” with me for months after putting it down.

      I learned so much from this novel – things that should be taught in World History class, or perhaps were and I just forgot. Wild poppies in France. No Man’s Land. Deserters and self-induced injuries or purposeful recklessness. The called it The War to End All Wars and you certainly feel that when reading.

      If you love historical fiction, a novel that transports you to another time, or learning history told through the lense of fiction, then I highly recommend “A Very Long Engagement”.
    • 2/5
      My friend Ed also suggested this one a few years back. I recall the circumstances of acquiring it more thna the novel itself. It is interesting that the protagonist's disability is much evident in the book than the film adaptation. I suppose Miramax determined that we weren't prepared for Amelie in My Left Foot. That was harsh, wasn't it?
    • 4/5
      A Very Long Engagement is a sweet, poignant story set in post-World War I France, in which Mathilde sets out to solve the mystery of whether her fiance was truly killed in disgrace on the front.Japrisot's writing is stirring and sweet, telling the story of a stubborn Mathilde who will not give up until she has found out what happened to five French soldiers executed for maiming themselves. At no point did I ever think Mathilde should give up or think badly of her for her stubbornness. All the characters in this book are written with sympathy, even the ones who are not such great people.A Very Long Engagement reminded me very much of A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse, another french novel I enjoyed very much.
    • 4/5
      Very good book! A little mystery, a little romance, a little war... Mathilde suspects her fiance survived the war, although the government has told her he was killed in action. As she interviews and corresponds with various witnesses, she gathers pieces of the puzzle of what happened to her Manech. It is a complex and sad story but very satisfying. Recommended!
    • 3/5
      Maybe something's missing from the translation, but I couldn't say this story was beautifully told. It was, however, good enough that I needed to finish it to read what happened (which is funny because I've seen the movie and already knew).The difficult thing is that all of the characters have nicknames, and they call each other by different nicknames. This made the whole telling difficult to follow and quite a lot of work. I don't mind having to work to read a book, but if I do, it should be more satisfying than this one was.
    • 2/5
      Themes: war, love, hopeSetting: WWI and post war FranceFive soldiers were convicted of cowardice after shooting themselves in the hand. They are tied up and forced into enemy territory. Later the fiancee of one of the men receives a letter than convinces her to go looking for the truth behind their deaths and she will not stop until she finds out everything.It is an intriguing idea, but I didn't really like the main character, Mathilde, and I never understood why she had this compulsion to keep asking questions. I didn't find her sympathetic or believable. I wound up skipping a lot of the story, but I made it through to the rather improbable end because I wanted to see what happened.The stories of the war itself were well written and powerful. But overall, I really can't recommend the book. I kept putting it off, reaching for any other book besides this one. Finally I made myself finish it today, but if it felt like a chore, then it can hardly be worth reading, can it? 2 stars.
    • 5/5
      Heartbreaker.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books - and movies too! This book tells the story of Matilde and Maneck in France during WWI. I loved the history, the way Matilde's journey leads her to several other stories, the mystery of Maneck's disappearance and how she puts the clues together to find out what happened to him. Great book!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a delight to read, although it did take me a little while to understand the characters within it - there were so many, which was a little confusing.The story was fairly easy to follow, although it did dip back and forth a little, but I think it was helped by the fact that I had seen the film fairly recently. I always think it helps to have a picture although I know others prefer to do it the other way around!The book was well-written, and the main character, Mathilde, was delightful. I kept having to say the names in my head because they were just so fabulous "Bingo Crepuscule", "Celestin Poux", "Kleber Bouquet". Just wonderful!
    • 5/5
      Beautiful love story about a tenacious Frenchwoman searching for her missing fiance after World War I. Suspenseful, wonderful story with a great ending. Loved it!
    • 5/5
      This is one of my favourite books and I have re-read it several times. I have enjoyed all Sebastien Japrisot's books - but this is by far the best. I would recommend it to anyone as it covers all tastes (mystery, romance, war....)