Trespass: From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Gustav Sonata

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Audrun, who steadfastly refuses to rebuild deeper in the forest, out of sight of the Mas Lunel, alienates Anthony, Aramon, and all the local estate agents, who feel they cannot sell the Mas Lunel until the dispute between brother and sister is settled.

Rose Tremain - Wikipedia

Have to leave this book unfinished, not happy about it because I was sure I would like it seeing that it takes place here in France and the author is quite reputable, but no, it is soooooo depressing, the characters are unsympathetic and I don't like the way the plot is going, it is bleak and gloomy and I can't find any redeeming qualities. Tremain's extraordinary imagination has produced a powerful, unsettling novel in which two worlds and cultures collide.I don’t think it can hold a candle to the magnificent “Music and Silence,” which I read years ago and still think about often, but other than the above grammatical quibble, I really can’t point to any particular fault, though something holds it back from greatness. They live almost in utter isolation at the Mas Lunel and their proximity torments each of them daily.

Rose Tremain | Waterstones Rose Tremain | Waterstones

It combines character study of damaged individuals with a mystery and was a story that I really wanted to read and know the outcome. That said, I couldn't find it in myself to feel too bad for Kitty because her hatred for Anthony seems solely borne out of jealousy and she has such a lack of personal identity that I found myself just willing her to stand up for herself!

The novel is set in a small town in Cévennes and concerns two pairs of mixed gender dysfunctional adult siblings, one French and one English who become entangled in a dispute over property. Sadly, I had to finish it by myself as the aforementioned book-giver no longer speaks to me (quite rightly so). Aramon Lunel is an alcoholic (he has an over-fondness for pastis, “the” drink of the South of France), who is in poor health. But the characters, even the ones we were meant to be sympathetic toward, were just so very unlikable. Into this closed Cevenol world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London.

Trespass by Rose Tremain | Goodreads Trespass by Rose Tremain | Goodreads

It won the National Jewish Book Award in the US, the South Bank Sky Arts Award in the UK and was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award.Rose Tremain's best-selling novels have won many awards, including the Baileys Women's Prize, the Whitbread Novel of the Year, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Prix Femina Etranger. Unusually, I managed to enjoy the book despite not identifying with any of the characters or even liking any of them! Sadly, by the time we got to that point, I was totally and completely disenchanted by every single one of the characters including the isolated stone farmhouse in southern France, which is a bit of a character in itself. The characters are fabulously vivid, I can picture exactly how they look, what they wear, how they move, their little behaviours and idiosyncrasies.