Review: THE RED NOTEBOOK, Antoine Laurain

• 
  this edition first published in English by Gallic Books 2015
• translated from French by Emily Boyce
  
• ISBN 978-1-908313-86-7
• 159 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

Bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street, and feels impelled to return it to its owner. The bag contains no money, phone or contact information. But a small red notebook with handwritten thoughts and jottings reveals a person that Laurent would very much like to meet. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions? 

My Take

You probably can't justifiably categorise this book as crime fiction, more a mystery. We know from the very beginning who the red notebook belongs to. We know how it came to be abandoned in the street in the handbag that was stolen from its owner. As we keep an eye on the recovery of its owner, we watch Laurent Letellier investigate its contents and try to track down its owner.

A good read.

My rating: 4.4

About the author

Antoine Laurain is the award-winning author of nine novels including The Red Notebook (Indie Next, MIBA bestseller) and The President’s Hat (Waterstones Book Club, Indies Introduce). His books have been translated into 25 languages and sold more than 200,000 copies in English. He lives in Paris.

Emily Boyce is a translator and editor. She was shortlisted for the French Book Office New Talent in Translation Award in 2008, the French-American Translation Prize in 2016, and the Scott Moncrieff Prize in 2021. She lives in London.