The House in Paris

It starts with a young girl arriving at a house in Paris for the day, just a layover on a trip she is taking. A young boy also arrives, and he is to meet his mother.

And then the boy opens a purse, and takes out letters inside, and reads them, and suddenly, the characters are revealed to have secrets upon secrets, all tied together, and bound up in the house in Paris.

It's a beautifully written story, carefully placed and plotted out, so that in the end the reader is left to marvel at the marvelous workmanship behind the book. The characters are true and yet mysterious in their every word, and the actions the characters take feel both destined and inexplicable.

It's a delight of a book, and I'm so glad I read it, my first by this author.