"Our lives would be all the richer if we read a Michel Déon novel—a modern classic."—William Boyd"Quiet, wryly funny prose . . . a delight."—Independent on Sunday"It is shamefully parochial of us that this eminent writer has been so ignored by the anglophone world."—Sunday TimesIn this sequel to the acclaimed novel The Foundling Boy, Michel Déon's hero comes to manhood and learns about desire and possession, sex and love, and the nuances of allegiance that war necessitates.In the aftermath of French defeat in July 1940, twenty-year-old Jean Arnaud and his ally, the charming conman Palfy, are hiding out at a brothel in Clermont-Ferrand, having narrowly escaped a firing squad. At a military parade, Jean falls for a beautiful stranger, Claude, who will help him forget his adolescent heartbreak but bring far more serious troubles of her own.
