De derde leugen

More about the book

This bleak story, by a Hungarian-born writer living in Switzerland and writing in French, is both an allegory on the East-West divisions of Europe and a commentary on the damage parents can do to children. The narrator, Claus, revisits the places of his youth after the fall of Communism. He recounts a past that begins with his waking up during World War II with a serious spinal injury at the age of four and progresses through rehabilitation and foster homes. He has only a vague memory of a happier childhood before then. In the middle of the book a surprise twist casts a new light on Claus' past. Translated by Marc Romano.