Flowers of Darkness: A Novel
From the internationally bestselling author of Sarah's Key comes Tatiana de Rosnay's Flowers of Darkness, a riveting and emotionally intense novel, set in a near future Paris, where a woman confronts past betrayal and present mystery
Author Clarissa Katsef is struggling to write her next book. She’s just snagged a brand new artist residency in an ultra-modern apartment, with a view of all of Paris, a dream for any novelist in search of tranquility. But since moving in, she has had the feeling of being watched. Is there reason to be paranoid? Or is her distraction and discomfort the result of her husband’s recent shocking betrayal? Or is that her beloved Paris lies altered outside her windows? A city that will never be quite the same, a city with a scar at its center?
Stuck inside, in the midst of a sweltering heat wave, Clarissa enlists her beloved granddaughter in her investigation of the mysterious, high tech building even as she finds herself drawn back into the orbit of her first husband who is still the one who knows her most intimately, who shares the past grief that she has never quite let go.
Staying true to her favorite themes—the imprint of the place, the weight of secrets—de Rosnay weaves an intrigue of thrilling suspense and emotional power.
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Community Reviews
Clarissa is a writer and a woman scorned. Luckily, she is given the opportunity to leave her cheating husband and live in an artists' residence for cheap rent, great views of Paris, and nothing to do but work on her new endeavor: a book written in English & French simultaneously, as Clarissa herself thinks & speaks in both of these languages fluently and fluidly.
However, there seems to be an unspoken catch. Isn't there always a catch when something seems too good?
The world Clarissa lives in is set in a future, sadly, not too many years down the road from us. This world is without plants and bees. This world has massive heat waves where people must barricade themselves inside so as to not roast on the streets like pieces of meat. This world has artificial intelligence. This world is always watching - and they're watching Clarissa and her fellow artists quite closely. But Why?
"Flowers of Darkness" touches on so many events in our current lives and the lives we fear we may find ourselves in in the near future. I felt almost bombarded with issue after issue in our main character's life. And had this book been written by a less experienced author, it would have been too much. However, de Rosnay crafted her story in such a way that it wasn't overwhelming, but instead made you feel compassion and anger and fear and suspicious. It made you FEEL.
I love stories with a Happily Ever After. I'm even okay with a Not-too-Happy After, but all the loose ends are at least tied up. This book? It's ending was...happy? It was...satisfying? Not *all* loose ends were tied up, but they were enough? I think this is why I can't quite let go of the story: I still have questions. (I will say, however, that it isn't like another book I read not too long ago that ended in such a way that I threw it across the room.) And while I do have these questions, I can still walk away knowing Clarissa and her life will continue on in a scary, future world where people are still continuing to love and care about one another.
Solid 4.5 Stars
A Huge THANK YOU to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.
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