Lea - Softcover

Pascal Mercier

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1848873417 ISBN 13: 9781848873414

Publisher: Atlantic Books, 2017

Synopsis

From the author of the giant bestseller, Night Train to Lisbon, comes a finely calibrated heartbreaker of a novel about fathers and daughters, great rises and sudden falls.

It all starts with the death of Martijn van Vliet’s wife. His grief-stricken young daughter, Lea, cuts herself off from the world, right up until the day that she hears a snatch of Bach being played on a violin by a busker. Transfixed by the sweet melody, she emerges from her mourning, vowing to learn the instrument. Lea’s all-consuming passion is matched by talent, and she becomes one of the finest players in the country – but as her fame blossoms, her relationship with her father only withers. Desperate to hold on to Lea, Martin is driven to commit an act that threatens to destroy both him and his daughter.

About this title

About the Author

Pascal Mercier was born in 1944 in Bern, Switzerland, and currently lives in Berlin, where he is a professor of philosophy.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I walked over to Lea and drew her gently to me, the same movement as ever when I needed to console and protect her. Then she would press her cheek to my hip, and if things were particularly bad she would bury her face in me. Now, however, it was different, and even though it was only a small movement, a mere nuance in her reaction, it still changed the world. Under the gentle pressure of my hand Lea slowly returned to reality. At first she yielded, as she normally did, to my protective gesture. But then, for a tiny moment, she paused abruptly and began to resist me.
I sensed what was happening, and it hit me like an electric shock: while she had been immersed in herself a new will had formed, a new independence had come into being, one of which she was still unaware.
I drew my hand back with a start, fearfully waiting for what would happen next. Since coming to, Lea had not yet looked at me. When our eyes met now, it was for a moment which I experienced with unnatural alertness, like the encounter between two adults with matching wills. The person standing here was no longer a little daughter in need of protection, facing her tall, protective father, but a young woman filled with a will and a future for which she demanded unconditional respect.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1848873417
• ISBN 13: 9781848873414
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400