Book Review: The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce)

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Can you experience nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened? We talk of ‘regrets’ about the course of our lives, when we are almost certain we have taken the wrong decision; but one can also be enveloped in a sweet and mysterious euphoria, a sort of nostalgia for what might have been.”

The story begins with a late-night mugging that eventually lands the victim, Laure Valadier, a gilder by profession, in the hospital. Bookstore owner Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on his routine coffee run, discarded on top of a garbage bin. Upon searching through the contents he finds a cornucopia of items (not surprising since most of us ladies carry our own little universe in our bags) but nothing indicating the identity or contact details of the owner. Among the contents, he does find a red moleskin notebook, a dry cleaners receipt, a key ring and a signed copy of a Patrick Modiano novel (I felt a bit jealous here!). The story follows Laurent as he tries to track down the owner based on whatever clues he can piece together from the contents of the handbag - an experience that impacts both his and Laure’s lives in the best ways one can imagine (notwithstanding a few minor hiccups along the way!).

Elegant prose, endearing characters, books, bookstores, literary references and Paris – what a perfect combination! Antoine Laurain’s The Red Notebook (translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce) is an utterly charming and delightful story! I had been meaning to read this book for a long time and am glad that I finally picked it up! A short uplifting novel that you can easily finish in one sitting – best enjoyed with your beverage of choice ( for me it was a few cups of steaming hot cinnamon spice tea and some chocolate)! I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work!