Clara reads Proust

Clara reads Proust

Stéphane Carlier, 1969-

Book - 2024

"A tender and witty coming-of-age story about the power of literature to inspire new beginnings, peppered with a cast of quirky characters and a unique heroine. Clara is a hairdresser at Cindy Coiffure, a sleepy French salon with an identity crisis. Her relationship is fizzling out. Her tanoholic boss Madame Habib worships Jacques Chirac and talks longingly of her days in Paris. The highlight of the week was when the dishy technician came to repair the display cabinet. And now Madame Lévy-Leroyer wants to go blonde. Clara can't help but wonder if there's more to life... Everything changes when a customer leaves behind the first volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. As Clara reads, she discovers a whole new world..., leading her to strike up an unexpected friendship. And slowly but surely, she will work out who she wants to be."--

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Subjects
Proust, Marcel, > 1871-1922 > Appreciation > Fiction.
Books and reading > Fiction.
Friendship > Fiction.
Beauty operators > Fiction.
France > Fiction.
Bildungsromans.
Novels.
Genres
Bildungsromans
Novels
Published
London : Gallic Books [2024]
Language
English
French
Main Author
Stéphane Carlier, 1969- (author)
Other Authors
Polly Mackintosh (translator)
Item Description
First published in France as Clara lit Proust by Éditions Gallimard, 2022.
Physical Description
175 pages ; 20 cm
ISBN
9781913547738
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Clara, a young French hairdresser, is at a standstill. She is unhappy with her job and her boyfriend and not receiving any kind of fulfillment in life until a customer of the run-down salon at which she works leaves a copy of a Proust novel behind. Overcome with curiosity, Clara takes it home and begins to read, beginning her journey of existential questioning and self-discovery as she first disconnects with everyone around her and then learns to reconnect through her love of the book and its author. Carlier's debut is a thoughtful look at the life of a young woman viewed through the lens of her favorite book. Serious, strong prose and the vivid imagery it creates take readers through the days of Clara's life, both mundane and extraordinary, as she first learns what passion is and then learns how to share it with others. Anyone who has read a singular book with the power to change their worldview will find a friend in Clara, and in Carlier.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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