Book Review: The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan

This book doesn't nearly get enough love it deserves! Originally published in French and beautifully translated to English, the story follows an unlikely group of strangers who connect in unexpected ways.

When Anne-Lise Briard finds an unfinished manuscript in the drawer of the hotel she's staying at, she knows immediately the book is a hit. Anne-Lise sets off on a journey to find the owner of the manuscript, but it's not that simple- she must first weave her way through all the lives it touched since it was lost. When she tracks down the author, he confesses that the book is the same one he lost 30 years previously, and has no interest in publishing it or changing his recluse lifestyle. Anne-Lise works tirelessly to convince him to give the world a try, stretch out of his comfort zone, and reconnect with lost loves.

This book is just filled with some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. It almost makes me want to go learn French just so I can read it in its original language. Highlights for me were:

"...once there, you'll find unusual people with wounds real, even if you don't know them

yet."

and

"I am one of those people who cannot savor the present unless they have kept a

fragment, forever nestled in the heart of their memories."

This is my second short novel translated from French, the first being one of my favourite reads of all time, The Girl Who Reads on The Metro. Like that novel, The Lost Manuscript delivers characters so real and heartfelt you feel like you're friends with all of them by the time the last page is turned.

Found Family, friendship, healing, time, books, relentless spirits, and people you desperately wish were real.