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From Amazon
At the outset of Sebastian Faulks's The Girl at the Lion d'Or, lovely, abandoned Anne Louvet seems almost willing to retreat into the anonymous routines of her waitressing duties--until she meets Charles Hartmann. He, trapped in a loveless marriage and feeling increasingly adrift more than a decade after serving in the Great War, is as enchanted by Anne's vulnerability as she is by his tender, almost paternal attentions. Their affair, and the cruel paradox of seeking a clandestine sufficiency, allow Faulks to pit the demands of desire against the necessities of duty, a task he pursues with tireless charm.
When Anne first arrives at the Hotel du Lion d'Or in the French town of Janvilliers, it is with the dual hope of escaping an unhappy past and discovering some degree of happiness. Undeniably beautiful and just bold enough to prod her own fate, she sees in the wealthy and restless Hartmann a soul that might redeem her own. "How was it possible, she wondered, to be awed by someone and yet to feel protective towards him too?" For his part, Hartmann senses in her the woman who, finally, might satisfy his need to offer refuge.
The secret of Anne's past, which she fears will drive Hartmann from her, conspires along with his gnawing uncertainty about her ultimate contentment to place their romance at a crossroads. Faulks, with deft restraint, never allows matters to lapse into the maudlin. Assessing the apparent inappropriateness of his love for Anne, Hartmann reflects that "there was something wrong ... in a society that could think of such generous feelings as unacceptable." Faulks's own generosity illuminates each page. --Ben Guterson --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Reading Faulks's second novel (written before Fool's Alphabet, Birdsong and Charlotte Gray), one sees that his preoccupations and choice of genre have been clear from the beginning. Published in the U. K. in 1989, this is another postmodern historical romance, telling the story of a short-lived but intense love affair set in a France decimated by WWI. When Anne Louvet arrives in the village of Janvilliers on a rainy night in the 1930s, she hopes to leave behind a secret history of family disgrace. Her parents are long gone, their deaths shrouded in mystery, and the guardian with whom she lived in Paris has disappeared. In an attempt to make a new life for herself, she works as a waitress at the local hotel, soon finding escape from the watchful eye of manageress Madame Bouin in the arms of Charles Hartmann, a wealthy married veteran, lawyer and landowner. The ill-starred lovers' affair mirrors the general turmoil of the nation. Hartmann is emotionally scarred by his brief service in the Great War. His efforts to rebuild his manor house are stymied by discontented workmen and greedy entrepreneurs, and a politician he tries to help falls victim to scandal. Finally, his betrayal of Anne coincides with Germany's invasion of the Rhineland. Anne herself, with her physical beauty, mournful past and determination to survive, becomes the true symbol of France's spirit. Faulks blends the dramatic yearnings of physical love with a searing realism: the smells that waft from Chef Bruno's kitchen at the Lion d'Or are as immediate as soldiers' stark memories of battle scenes. In both Paris and the countryside, the living standards of the elite contrast sharply with those of the lower classes. Despite moments of overwrought passion and exaggerated guilt, Faulks's smoky cinematic treatment is perfectly suited to his moving tale of a woman and a country unprepared for the cruel consequences of military conflict. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully written and thought provoking.,
This review is from: The Girl at the Lion d'Or (Paperback)
This story opens with a prologue about three newspaper stories. Two of the stories deal with the demise of two political figures. The third story, very brief, almost lost on the page, deals with an unknown female intruder in the grounds of the prime minister's residence. The newspaper makes the French of the day believe the girl is unimportant, but if Faulks' readers are alert, they will see him peel back the layers to show us how important her insignificance is to France. We are introduced to Anne Louvet, a twenty-something girl with a secrect. She has answered an ad to be a waitress at the Hotel du Lion d'or, and when she meets the various characters of the novel, we are equisitely and subtlely introduced to the themes that caused the fall of France. Each character represents something that is amiss in pre-World War II France. In Anne, we come to know the beauty and vulnerability of France; In Hartmann, her married lover, Jewish and wealthy, we see the noblese who makes excuses for deflowering her. In the beginning, he convinces himself that he provides for her because he feels sorry for her, but that is the only way he, as a member of the gentry, can justify to himself that his actions are of a higher calling rather than that of a typical, wayward husband. But Hartmann is not alone. Each of the members of the upper classes, in this novel, are ruthless, wolves-in-sheep's clothing, who can manipulate the weak and convince themselves that they were the victim. At work here, also, is the precursor to the Jewish Final Solution in France. Pay close attention to the characters who interact with Hartmann. The other characters of this novel represent various classes and ways of looking at the world. See if you can identify their role in the shaping of France prior to World War II. Read this novel for it's beautiful, lyrical style, but don't cheat yourself by thinking that is all it is. Faulks is a master of the written word who understands the class system in Europe; it is a subtle yet powerful character in and of itself.
3.0 out of 5 stars
The second in a trilogy,
By
This review is from: The Girl at the Lion d'Or (Paperback)
While this book is not as good as Faulks Birdsong or Charlotte Grey. It does round out the trilogy nicely and provide insight to how Birdsong and Charlotte Grey are connected.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read!,
By Cindy A Hedges (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Girl at the Lion d'Or (Paperback)
I am glad that I read the book before I read the customer reviews. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have read the book. I loved it. Sebastian writes beautifully and his descriptions of France and the emotions of the two main characters were compelling. I didn't read "Birdsong" when it first hit the bookstores, but I am certianly glad I read this book. Although I felt like I had escaped to France in the 1930's I also identified with the tortured couple. I was completely taken.
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