The Lost Manuscript
A Novel
by Cathy Bonidan
St. Martin's Press
 You Like Them
Romance
Pub Date 12 Jan 2021   |   Archive Date 12 Jan 2021

Thanks to St.Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, written by a French Author I know nothing about.  
I usually enjoy epistolary books.  But in this case, I felt there were too many characters.  It was a quick read but it was nothing life-changing for me.  I will not be able to recommend this.  

3 star

I'm so glad I took a chance on reading an advance copy of this novel by a French author about whom I knew nothing.  This book is a delight- a perfect book for book lovers to start the new year.  I've always liked epistolary novels, and this one is exceptional.  It was cleverly done, showing correspondence between many characters with a unifying theme.  I loved the characters, and I couldn't put the book down, wanting to find out the answer to the mystery of the book.  I was also impressed with the quality of the translation.  I found this book completely charming and a joy to read.  I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by the author.

I requested this book after someone on a NetGalley blog recommended it. Honestly, the premise is cute and I thought it would be a nice change of pace and something not so series to add to my reading. Unfortunately, I couldn’t figure out the purpose of the story and was bored with it. 

Unfinished manuscript found in a hotel room and returned to author after 30 years and meddlesome person tries to trace the journey of the last 30 years. Ok, so they figure out the path of this manuscript and each one says how “life-changing” it was for them, but we never get to know what the manuscript is except that it’s semi-autobiographical. Maybe I missed a huge chunk, maybe I skimmed over THE defining moment, I’m not sure, but it bored me to tears. And the letters...I’m not opposed to stories written this way, but too many seemed to have no bearing at all on the story. Again, maybe I missed something. Definitely not for me.

Thank you NetGalley, the publishers and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This wasn't anything special, but it did provide the distraction I was looking for during some of the most stressful months of this pandemic. Epistolary novels are always quick reads, so add this to your list if that's what you're looking for!

I was excited to read The Lost Manuscript after reading the description and other readers' reviews.  The story is intriguing...."What would you do if you found a manuscript in a hotel room?"  Of course, you would read it.  But would you try to find the author?  I find that implausible.  The story written in epistolary form has much potential but I felt that there were too many characters.  All in all, I was disappointed.  Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed how the characters intertwined and how their stories converged with fate. 

This resonated with me—“ ..it is only as teenagers that we plunge into love as if we were going to die the next day. The older we get, the more we hem and haw; as if time no longer mattered. Isn’t it funny?”

An interesting idea and made me think about how we communicate every day. We do not write "paper letters" as we did in the past and think of them as old-fashioned but the joke is that people today do more writing and reading than before through texting, tweeting, emailing, etc. 

This book has us reading the letters between the author of a book found by this woman and it is learning about each other throw their letters.

What a lovely novel! The Lost Manuscript is a beautifully written, heartwarming story. I listened to this audiobook and it was wonderful. Easy to follow with a great narrator!  I highly recommend this unique and charming book.

this epistolatory novel was really interesting. it was kind of hard to read on my kindle, but i would recommend picking it up because letter books be good.

I usually love epistolary novels but this one lost my interest early on and never regained it.  It was too long and rambling, with too many characters, all of which sounded too much alike.

The Lost Manuscript was funny and touching. A nice lighthearted read and very quick due to the epistolary format. It reminded me a lot of A Man Called Ove. My only complaint is that the translation was a little clunky. I imagine the original french was a much more charming and free flowing story. But at the same time like Ove, the translation also lends charm.

THE LOST MANUSCRIPT by Cathy Bonidan will be published in the United States in January and I encourage you to look for it. The award-winning author teaches school and lives in Vannes, France. Her main character, Anne-Lise Briard, vacations in Brittany where she finds a manuscript in her hotel room. After reading and being moved by the story, she returns it to an address that was inside the book. The author responds and Anne-Lise learns that the manuscript was lost 30 years ago and has since been finished by an unknown second author. That starts a wonderful journey to trace the book's activity over the last few decades. The story is told in light, breezy, honest letters between Anne-Lise and Sylvestre Fahmer, the somewhat reclusive author.  Eventually, others join the correspondence and the reader learns of thwarted love affairs, estranged parents and children, and budding friendships. Along the way, the manuscript positively impacts its readers and I must say that I found reading the letters to be a delight. They are filled with hope, mystery and even romance, as Bonidan relays the power of books and of caring for each other. Publishers Weekly gave THE LOST MANUSCRIPT a starred review. Add it to your "to be read" pile for 2021 now.

This unusual book is made up completely of letters (apparently this format is called an “epistolary novel”). It took me a while to get absorbed by the convoluted story, but eventually I got pulled in. Anne-Lise finds a manuscript in a hotel room in Brittany and spends a lot of effort into finding out how it got there, making good friends along the way. This novel was just okay for me. There were a lot of convenient coincidences and the prose, due to the letter-writing format, was a bit wordy, so I found myself skimming a bit here and there.

This book was originally published in French under a different title (essentially “Room 128”) and the translator, Emma Ramadam, did a good job.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Cathy Bonidan’s The Lost Manuscript is an epistolary novel that follows Anne-Lise, who, while on vacation on the Brittany coast, finds an abandoned type written manuscript in her hotel room nightstand.

So taken by this novel, and finding the author’s address at the end, she sends the book off to the original owner. Though she doesn’t expect a reply, she gets an astonishing one—the author had lost his manuscript 30 years ago—and he didn’t even write the second half of the book.

Her interest piqued, Anne-Lise won’t rest until she finds who the second mystery author is. And what she discovers during her amateur sleuthing is a host of people who got their hands on the book and had their lives changed forever.

And that’s all before she discovers the shocking identity of the author who finished the story.

This book was such a lovely surprise. I’ve never actually read an epistolary novel before, but I was hooked by the format. Even though the pacing is a bit slow because of it, it’s a welcome change for those times you need a more quiet read.

It’s also written so beautifully. Though some might call the prose “purple,” I actually enjoy it. There’s something about this type of language that feels lyrical to me. And even though I don’t encounter many people who speak like this any more (or who actually exchange hand-written letters), this book felt like a song and I was immersed. I can only imagine how this must sound in the original French.

This book releases January 12, and if you’re in any way moved by beautiful language, clever literary puzzles, and powerful character backstories, I highly recommend this one 

Special thanks to @stmartinspress for giving me the opportunity to read this advance copy though NetGalley. What a pleasure.

I finally learned exactly what people mean when they use the phrase "purple prose" because......geez was this it.

The story of "The Lost Manuscript" at it's core was cute, but this felt a little too twee at some points. The main character - Anne-Lise - was kind of juvenile and annoying but her determination was admirable. There were way too many side characters to keep straight but still, I blew through this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

What would you do if you discovered a discarded manuscript  in a hotel room? Why, read it of course. And then try to discover who wrote it and why it was abandoned. The narrative style of the book is all in letter form. While not the the most original format, it works tremendously well for this story. Readers delve into the personalities of the letter writers and the mystery behind the manuscript is gradually fleshed out while including more of the stories of the other characters. I found the book interesting and lighthearted to read. So remember to check those hotel drawers for hidden gems.

Before I jump into my thought on this book I must thank the publisher, author, Dreamscape Audio and NetGalley for my digital copies of this book. I was granted both a digital kindle copy and an advanced audio. 
(I am spoiled.)

Upon finishing this book I can confidently say- 

*It was a good book but not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

*It was a short read/listen which I appreciated.

*I love and epistolary format and without the audio I may have gotten easily lost.

* The audio has multiple narrators and they kept me going. Without this audio I may have DNF'd.

*The cover of this book is adorable and may draw in younger readers but I don't think that is the demographic suited for what I just read.

 Overall- I am underwhelmed.

Unfortunately, I don't have much to say about this book. Though it is well-written, it didn't grab me in any way. While some epistolary novels are notable for banter (think "Charring Cross") or romance ("The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"), this novel fell short. It was so plain that as soon as I finished, I forgot most of it. The characters were almost indistinguishable from each other and I kept wondering when I'd actually be able to read this fabled manuscript. I'm grateful to NetGalley for the arc, and hope the author's next book holds a bit more interest for me :)

Has a book changed your life? What if one did?  This was a beautifully written story about a found / lost manuscript. It is heartwarming and romantic and it makes one feel good. 
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Title:  The Lost Manuscript
Author:  Cathy Bonidan
Genre:  Fiction
Rating:  4 out of 5

When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her…
Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking—that he was not the author of the second half of the book.

Anne-Lise can’t rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book—and isn't that the point of reading? And finally, with a plot twist you don't see coming, she uncovers the astonishing identity of the author who finished the story. 

I really enjoyed this read! It’s told in a series of letters between the various characters, and at first, I had a little trouble keeping everyone straight, but that soon resolved. There are a lot of storylines woven together, past and present, but they make a seamless and engrossing tapestry, with vivid characters full of quirks and little adventures that draw the reader fully into the story. Definitely a recommended read.

Cathy Bonidan is a teacher. The Lost Manuscript is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 1/11.)