Followed by Perfect Crime, The Healing, Bad Reads, and Woman with Flowers
***More than 200,000 copies sold in less than three months***
Exploring expressions of love and delusion, acclaimed author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt brings to this collection of short stories the skills that won him fame for Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran, as he reveals the power of imagination in our lives and why dreams are the stuff our souls are made of.
To get over a broken relationship, a man seeks refuge in Ostend, a sleepy village facing the North Sea. His landlady, Anna van A., a reclusive old maid who lives surrounded by her books and memories, surprises him when she recounts the strange story of her life, in which love of the most passionate nature is intertwined with extravagant eroticism. Her account astonishes the man to such an extent that, questioning its veracity, he decides to investigate for himself . . . is he dealing with a superb hoaxer or a highly unique woman? That question remains until the very last page, in a delicious mix of suspense and emotion.