The word trespass takes on multiple meanings in Tremain’s emotionally searing novel. The lives of two pairs of aging siblings converge and overlap in a lushly neglected valley in the Cévennes region of southern France. With his once-successful career as a London antiques dealer on an increasingly downward spiral, Anthony Verey decides to visit his sister Veronica, now cozily ensconced in the valley with her lover, Kitty. Disillusioned by the negative trajectory of his life and charmed by the feral beauty of the area, he decides to purchase a home nearby, causing friction between Veronica and Kitty. What appears to be the perfect property, the Mas Lunel estate, is haunted by the brutally abusive past of sibling-owners Aramon and Audrun. As these characters trespass on one another physically, emotionally, and psychologically, Tremain ratchets up the suspense, setting the stage for an appropriately dark and bitter denouement. --Margaret Flanagan
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
Two pairs of siblings and their twisted pasts converge in this gripping, dark novel from Orange Prize–winner Tremain (The Road Home). In the southern French Cévennes region, Audrun lives a peaceful if bitter life in a small bungalow a stone's throw from her family home. She's been cast out, either by inheritance or some terrible transgression; her drunken, spiteful brother, Aramon, who still resides there, hopes to sell the home to foreign tourists, an act that would further uproot Audrun. Meanwhile, Anthony Verey, a once-renowned London antiques dealer, having reached an existential precipice, descends on his sister, Veronica, who lives near the Cévennes with her lover, Kitty. As Anthony and Kitty quietly battle for Veronica's affections, Audrun and Aramon struggle with their history and land. Anthony wants a home in the region, hoping it will fill his void, and he joins the wave of foreigners hungrily circling the area. Soon, a series of rash decisions impacts all of their lives in brutal, unforgettable ways. Tremain renders this untamed area with haunting prose, but the affecting sense of dread she builds makes her tale at times unrelentingly grim.
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From
The word trespass takes on multiple meanings in Tremain’s emotionally searing novel. The lives of two pairs of aging siblings converge and overlap in a lushly neglected valley in the Cévennes region of southern France. With his once-successful career as a London antiques dealer on an increasingly downward spiral, Anthony Verey decides to visit his sister Veronica, now cozily ensconced in the valley with her lover, Kitty. Disillusioned by the negative trajectory of his life and charmed by the feral beauty of the area, he decides to purchase a home nearby, causing friction between Veronica and Kitty. What appears to be the perfect property, the Mas Lunel estate, is haunted by the brutally abusive past of sibling-owners Aramon and Audrun. As these characters trespass on one another physically, emotionally, and psychologically, Tremain ratchets up the suspense, setting the stage for an appropriately dark and bitter denouement. --Margaret Flanagan