The Blurb:
“Hilary Wainwright, poet and intellectual, returns after the war to a blasted and impoverished France in order to trace a child lost five years before. The novel asks: is the child really his? And does he want him? These are questions you can take to be as metaphorical as you wish: the novel works perfectly well as straight narrative. It’s extraordinarily gripping: it has the page-turning compulsion of a thriller while at the same time being written with perfect clarity and precision.’Had it not got so nerve-wracking towards the end, I would have read it in one go. But Laski’s understated assurance and grip is almost astonishing. She has got a certain kind of British intellectual down to a tee: part of the book’s nail-biting tension comes from our fear that Hilary won’t do something stupid. The rest of “Little Boy Lost’s” power comes from the depiction of post-wr France herself. This is haunting stuff.”
What I thought:
What a fabulous little book, yet again, from Marghanita Laski and reprinted by Persephone. I only read The Victorian Chaise-Longue a month or so ago so when I saw this book in a random independent bookshop in Whitby I snatched it off the shelf eagerly.
The book starts at Christmas in England with Hilary Wainwright enjoying a family day at his Mothers house when there is a knock at the door. A weary French man introduces himself as Pierre and tells him that the son Hilary had only seen once the day after he was born (to his French wife, Lisa) is missing and he wants to help find him. Hilary knows that Lisa was killed by the Gestapo but he has never known what happened to his son.
Fast forward two year, after the war (WW2), Hilary sets off for Paris to meet Pierre and hear of his progress in the search for his little boy. The Paris that Hilary once knew is not the Paris that he is now confronted with as he steps off the bus into the rubble. Laski depicts the once vibrant and bustling city that has been reduced to decay brilliantly: she managed to convey the fact that there was an entire loss of culture as well as just buildings and streets. It wasn’t the Paris I know and love today and it wasn’t the Paris that Hilary had known and loved before the war.
The story then moves to a town further North in France (only named A____) in the book, where Hilary is following up a lead from Pierre that his son had been taken to an orphanage there. Hilary now has to face the fact that not only is his beloved France changed but so, maybe, are his feelings towards the son he had alway longed for. What if he didn’t know if the child was his or not? How could he be sure? And did he still want the child? Hilary states a few times that he doesn’t want to he hurt again, that he can’t experience that loss again, and maybe he should forget about the boy and go back to England.
As his daily visits to the orphanage (orchestrated by the nuns under a cover story), Hilary must decide what he really wants and if the boy does turn out to be his son, does he want his as a part of his life?
Little Boy Lost is a wonderful book: it skips along at a lively pace that keeps your interest entirely but is gentle enough to allow you to ponder the the potential outcomes and appreciate the clarity of the narrative the all the while. And, as with The Victorian Chaise-Longue, the very last sentence packs such a wallop!
I read this book as part of Persephone Week as hosted by Claire at Paperback Reader and Verity at The B Files. And also………this is very exciting…………I will be visiting the actual Persephone Shop in London tomorrow! Yep, I’m meeting my fellow Brit book bloggers and have arranged to meet in the shop – it will be like Christmas in there; so many goodies for me to get my mits on!
I want read this a some point just not seen it in a bookshop yet love persephone book ,stu
If you do find it you should get it, Stu. keep looking out for it.
I’m glad to see you enjoyed this book because I just ordered it yesterday! I’m really looking forward to reading it now.
Oh how fuuny, Helen. I hope you enjoy it
I loved this book when I read it last year and still reeling from that wallop of a punch that it packs!
I’m looking forward to meeting you tomorrow and trying not to indulge in the shop!
I’m really looking forward to seeing the shop, Claire. You may need to restrain me, however. I have been known to go a little crazy in book shops
Hello! I’ve not come across your blog, but I think we could well end up meeting tomorrow
Excellent review btw.
Thanks Verity
Look forward to meeting you tomorrow!
I love your review-and when I put it on my wishlist on GoodReads someone had one available for swap, so I’ll get it right away. How’s that for instant gratification!
Sounds really good, I’m looking forward to it.
Oh how cool, Heather. I saw that someone had one for swapping – really pleased you snapped it up. Hope you enjoy it
Ohhhh!! great Boof !!! you will have a wonderful time, this is so exciting….enjoy !!!
I’d love to go to that cute shop one day in London(I saw the pictures), that sells beautiful grey books, I have some of them at home, about a dozen, aren’t they pretty ?And sweet to read too.
They are very pretty, Virginie – that’s what I’m worried about
I may need to be restrained!
This (like almost any Persephone I come across) sounds really good. I’d love to read it sometime.
Hope you manage to track down a copy at some point, Iris.
I love finding treasures in those random independent bookshops, they almost always turn out to be amazing books!
I’m super excited to hear about how your meeting went, I hope you guys had the best bookish time ever!
Just got back, Lua, will be posting about it soon
This sounds like another excellent book! I so need to read more Laski.
I was great, Nymeth. I think you’d really like it too.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and The Victorian Chaise-Longue hardly at all. Have you read other books by Laski? I’m curious to see what I would think of her overall.
I much prefered Little Boy Lost, Jenny, although I did quite like Vic Chaise-Longue too. I am curious to read her others too.
I definitely need to read this! I really enjoyed the Victorian Chaise Longue and she is such an original writer. Great review, and lovely to meet you yesterday
I think I may choose this as my first Laski. Of course, that’s after I’ve read a few more Persephone’s on my shelf!
When I finished reading this book and came to that last sentence, it was 1 o’clock in the morning and I let out a cry and then burst into tears. talk about break your heart!
Do try To Bed with Grand Music by same author and The Village also published by Persephone, both are excellent.
I missed out on the meeting as I was ill but so looking forward to the next one!
Yes, I look forward to meeting you then, Elaine – I know you were missed at this one.
Isn’t the ending just brilliant in Little Boy Lost?
[...] Little by Lost by Marghanita Laski [...]