I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Title: The Mystery of Henri Pick
Author: David Foenkinos, translated by Sam Taylor
Release Date: 5.7.20 (1st published 4.1.16)
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Have you ever read a book and been firmly in the middle between loving it and hating it? I think that is my opinion for this one. I love books about books and the nexus for this story is a library for rejected manuscripts in the small town of Crozon in Brittany *swoon*. A young editor browsing the stacks finds a gem in what could likely be the world's largest slush pile, returns with the manuscript to Paris, and publishes it to great acclaim. The novel, The Last Hours of a Love Affair, becomes more and more successful and the mystery surrounding the author (deceased pizza chef Henri Pick) increases. Swarms of journalists, skeptics, and hopeful authors descend on the tiny town of Crozon. As the story unfolds, readers learn about connections between the town's citizens and while some of these connections were interesting, I thought there were too many characters included and too much digression into their storylines. I definitely disliked a few of the characters and totally hated one of them. The parts I loved were the comments and analyses about publishing. Books aren't born in a vacuum. There are stories behind their creation and their creators. There are publicists and players who bring about buzz. There are systems in place to control what is actually produced for mass consumption. When the mystery unravels around the novel I was torn between loving and hating the outcome. While I wouldn't recommend this one widely, I would recommend it to readers interested in the process of book publication--or to those poor souls who actually believe all books achieve their success based on their own merit.
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