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Book review: The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent

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The Reader on the 6.27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent (this hardcover edition has been published in 2015 by Pan Macmillan)

Saving condemned books a few pages at a time is an obsession for Guylain Vignolles. By reading the fragments to his fellow commuters, he subverts a system that has ceased to value them except as a grey pulp.

Slowly the words he brings to life create bonds that reach beyond the morning train trip.

But when he discovers a manuscript that touches him beyond any other, he is moved to break out of his habitual routine and try to find its author.

This beautiful, mysterious tale uses its prosaic setting to create a feeling of fable while unfolding the simple tale of a romance between two unusual characters who don’t seem to fit in the places they have landed up.

Can words on paper really connect complete strangers across an unknown divide? And will their connection seem real if they finally meet?

This gentle tale of two word-lovers was a French bestseller, and is well worth reading in this poignant English translation.

Keen on reading this book? Buy your copy now.

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