The Lost Manuscript

Cathy Bonidan’s The Lost Manuscript is an epistolary novel that follows Anne-Lise, who, while on vacation on the Brittany coast, finds an abandoned type written manuscript in her hotel room nightstand.

So taken by this novel, and finding the author’s address at the end, she sends the book off to the original owner. Though she doesn’t expect a reply, she gets an astonishing one—the author had lost his manuscript 30 years ago—and he didn’t even write the second half of the book.

Her interest piqued, Anne-Lise won’t rest until she finds who the second mystery author is. And what she discovers during her amateur sleuthing is a host of people who got their hands on the book and had their lives changed forever.

And that’s all before she discovers the shocking identity of the author who finished the story.

Friends, this book was such a lovely surprise. I’ve never actually read an epistolary novel before, but I was hooked by the format. Even though the pacing is a bit slow because of it, it’s a welcome change for those times you need a more quiet read.

It’s also written so beautifully. Though some might call the prose “purple,” I actually enjoy it. There’s something about this type of language that feels lyrical to me. And even though I don’t encounter many people who speak like this any more (or who actually exchange hand-written letters), this book felt like a song and I was immersed. I can only imagine how this must sound in the original French.

This book releases January 12, and if you’re in any way moved by beautiful language, clever literary puzzles, and powerful character backstories, I highly recommend this one

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy though NetGalley. What a pleasure.