Clara Reads Proust
'An elegant and quietly lyrical charting of a life changed by books' Irish Times
A tender and witty coming-of-age story about the power of literature to inspire new beginnings, peppered with a cast of quirky characters and a unique heroine.
Clara is a hairdresser at Cindy Coiffure, a sleepy French salon with an identity crisis. Her relationship is fizzling out. Her tanoholic boss Madame Habib worships Jacques Chirac and talks longingly of her days in Paris. And now Madame Léeacute;vy-Leroyer wants to go blonde. Clara can't help but wonder if there's more to life than this . . .
Everything changes when a customer leaves behind the first volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. As Clara reads, she discovers a new world. And slowly but surely, she will work out who she wants to be.
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Polly Mackintosh is an editor and a translator from French. She has translated the work of Alain Ducasse, Antoine Laurain and early French feminist Marie-Louise Gagneur, amongst others. She currently lives in London.
'[A] gently diverting tale of inspiration, bold re-inventions and the richness that great literature is a gateway to.' Daily Mail
'Clara's understanding of Proust is profound and if you wanted to know why you should read him and, perhaps more important, how, then Clara's observations are perfect.' Sunday Times
'Elegant and quietly lyrical . . . captures the quirks and intimacies of life in provincial France, without giving in to easy sentimentality or heavy-handed satire' Irish Times
'A book of great charm and quiet distinction . . . [Clara's] impressions of Proust's novel, both acute and naive, should encourage readers who might otherwise be daunted by its length and complexity' The Spectator
'Anyone who has read a singular book with the power to change their worldview will find a friend in Clara, and in Carlier' Booklist
'Effervescent ... Clara Reads Proust is a fun and moving novel about the life-altering, immortal power of words.' Foreword Review
'Full of sensitivity, charm and intelligence. Brilliant' Antoine Laurain, author of The Red Notebook
'A gorgeous coming-of-age story about the power of reading that transported me straight to France and ALMOST made me want to read Proust!' Lorraine Brown, author of The Paris Connection
'A sumptuous homage to reading' Le Parisien'An enchanting, thoroughly human story about the power of literature' L'Obs
'In Carlier's hands seriousness lacks pompousness and humour provides a trusty defence against melancholia' Le Figaro
'A book that will do you the world of good' Livres Hebdo
