Heritage

by Miguel Bonnefoy, Emily Boyce (Translator)

Overview

A pocket-sized family saga from the rich imagination and storytelling talents of Franco-Venezuelan author Miguel Bonnefoy

A winegrower ruined by the Great French Vine Blight takes his one surviving vine stock and boards a ship for California. But the new life he has in store is not the one he had imagined – taken ill aboard ship, he is forced to disembark at Valparaíso, where a misunderstanding at the customs post finds him rebaptized after his birthplace, Lons-le-Saunier: the Lonsonier family is born in Chile.

Making the journey in reverse, his sons return to defend the motherland in 1914, and the ghosts of the war live on across the Atlantic, in a house with three lemon trees and a garden filled with birds, for years to come.

From the depths of the trenches to the soaring peaks of the Andes and the shadow of dictatorship, the personal stories of the Lonsoniers collide with key moments in a century of global history, painting a vivid picture of what is both gained and lost through migration. This pocket-sized family saga confirms the rich imagination and storytelling talents of exciting young author Miguel Bonnefoy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913547103
Publisher:	Gallic Books
Publication date:	04/14/2022
Edition description:	International
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	15 - 18 Years

About the Author

Miguel Bonnefoy was born in France in 1986 to a Venezuelan mother and a Chilean father. In 2013, he was awarded the Prix du Jeune Ecrivain, which previously launched the careers of Marie Darrieussecq and others. Octavio’s Journey is Bonnefoy’s first novel, written in French. It has sold more than 25,000 copies in France and has been awarded the Prix Edmée de la Rochefoucauld (for debut novels – past winners include Goncourt winner Mathias Enard), the Prix Fénéon and the Prix de la Vocation, which rewards new talent (past winners include Amélie Nothomb and Joël Dicker). The book was also shortlisted for the Prix des Cinq Continents and the Goncourt First Novel Award.

Miguel Bonnefoy was born in France in 1986 to a Venezuelan mother and a Chilean father. In 2013, he was awarded the Prix du Jeune Ecrivain, which previously launched the careers of Marie Darrieussecq and others. Octavio’s Journey is Bonnefoy’s first novel, written in French. It has sold more than 25,000 copies in France and has been awarded the Prix Edmée de la Rochefoucauld (for debut novels – past winners include Goncourt winner Mathias Enard), the Prix Fénéon and the Prix de la Vocation, which rewards new talent (past winners include Amélie Nothomb and Joël Dicker). The book was also shortlisted for the Prix des Cinq Continents and the Goncourt First Novel Award.

Emily Boyce is a translator and editor. She was shortlisted for the French Book Office New Talent in Translation Award in 2008 and the French-American Translation Prize in 2016. She lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, the Goncourt des Lycéens, the Grand Prix de l’Académie Française, the Prix Femina and the Prix Femina des Lycéens

‘In the space of barely 200 pages, with a remarkable sense for what to tell and what to leave unsaid … Heritage is a novel about uprooting and second chances, the opposition between the forces of life and destruction, the elation of dreams and disenchantment.’ Le Figaro

‘Brilliantly combines personal stories with key moments in world History with a capital H … Miguel Bonnefoy’s novels take you on an enchanting journey through space and time’ Lire

‘A 33-year-old Franco-Venezuelan whose storytelling talents never cease to impress’ L’Express

‘A saga as gripping as it is bold’ Lire

‘Best of all are the passionate, tenacious female characters … A dramatic, colourful novel about exile and inheritance’ Libération

‘An extraordinary feel for detail combined with an equal deftness for ellipsis … Magnificent’ Le Monde

From the Publisher