About the Author

Pierre Lemaitre was born in Paris in 1951. He worked for many years as a teacher of literature before becoming a novelist. He was awarded the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger, alongside Fred Vargas, for Alex. In 2013 his novel Au revoir la-haut (The Great Swindle, in English translation) won the Prix Goncourt, France's leading literary award.

Reviews

The vast sweep of the novel and its array of extraordinary secondary characters have attracted comparisons with the works of Balzac. Moving, angry, intelligent - and compulsive - The TimesExceptionally powerful examination of the aftermath of war and of the people whose lives were washed away in its wake - Sunday TimesThis book is thick with detail, immersing the reader in its elaborately bleak world ... an irresistible story - New York TimesLemaitre's novel is a rare synthesis of the tragic and the comic - a masterclass in nail-biting suspense ... Frank Wynne is a superb translator who captures the rude exuberance of the original French - IndependentLemaitre's deadpan ironic tone is beautifully caught by his regular translator Frank Wynne. A kind of Ealing comedy with a bruised but still beating heart, this is the most purely enjoyable book I've read this year - Sunday ExpressA fast-paced tale, filled with twists and turns, following a mischievous, disillusioned view of post-war France - FigaroA masterly epic of post-war France, where impostures triumph and capitalists grow rich from the ruins - Le MondeA dark, burning requiem delivered in glorious prose that is as tough and effective as a punch in the face ... Read this riotous novel: it will leave you stunned - Express