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The 2004 Award

Good Intentions by Agnes Desarthe

Good Intentions by Agnès Desarthe
translated from the French by Adriana Hunter

 

 

Nominated by:

  • Tampere City Library, Tampere, Finland
  • Médiatheque Francois-Mitterrand de Poitiers, Poitiers, France

 

Publisher of Nominated Edition:
Flamingo ISBN 0007100930 : 0007100957

 
the complete A-Z listing of nominated authors
ABOUT THE BOOK
Sonia is finally settling down. With her husband, Julien, she buys a flat in an apartment block in an up-and-coming quarter of the city. And she is pregnant with their first child. Family life begins and it feels good.
Yet her new apartment, it is soon obvious, is not the haven she had hoped. And Sonia's befiefs in a decent, peaceful world, her disgust over racism, over poverty, soon make life very difficult for her as she allows herself to be drawn into a vicious and deeply unpleasant war between the odious apartment caretakers and a sad, lost widower who reaches out to her for help. When the threats and bullying slide beyond her control, Sonia is forced to realise that the cruelty of the world cannot simply be covered up with good intentions. With sly wit and a misleadingly light touch, Agnès Desarthe has created an unsettling picture of the world through an apartment building. And she has shown how, with the best will in the world, it can sometimes be the hardest thing of all to tell the good guys from the bad guys.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Agnès Desarthe is the author of three previous novels for adults, Un Secret Sans Importance, Quelques Minutes de Bonheur Absolu and Cinq Photos de ma Femme, (published in English as Five Photos of My Wife). She lives in Paris, France, with her husband, a filmmaker, and children.
Reader Review

Desarthe's genius is her ability to convey so much in so few pages.
This short novel records a phase in the life of a young woman called Sonia. When Sonia and her husband settle into their new home, in a long estabhlished apartment block, life looks promising. They are expecting their first child and they are both happy in their chosen careers. Sonia's inherent good nature longs for a world where poverty does not exist and tolerance abounds. When the elderly neighbour Monsieur Dupotier seeks help Sonia comes to his rescue, but despite all the good intentions problems worsen and sinister elements come into play.

Desarthe has created a group of charecters who are disturbingly real. The result borders on black comedy but above all it is a great work of fiction.

Member of the Raheny Library Reading Group, Dublin, Ireland

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