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It’s the spring of 1933, and Chanson has just turned seven. He enjoys an idyllic life of acting in films, visiting Parisian parks, and making excursions to the mountains with his mother, Lys. Chanson lives also with his father, Louis-Etienne, and his older brother, Curtis, but it’s clear that Lys is the guiding star of his existence. Their relationship evokes that of the protagonist and his mother in The Goldfinch, and their happiness is fated to be equally short-lived. As Chanson and Lys are out driving one day, a lamb leaps into their path. Lys swerves to avoid it, and the car careens downhill towards an oncoming train. The train strikes the back end of the car with devastating force, and Lys is killed.
The novel follows Chanson over the next several years as he attempts to adjust to life without his beloved mother. He accepts a bit role in a film version of Heidi, battles illness, and absconds to England to become a shepherd when acting proves unsustainable. Looming over all, meanwhile, is the mystery of the grandfather who seems to have rejected him—a conflict that yields some of the story’s most richly observed and moving moments.
With its beleaguered orphans and hearty dollops of sentiment, Serff’s book is at times reminiscent of the novels of Baylea Osborn. Long lyrical passages ruminating on God, love, and the mysteries of the human heart may appeal to fans of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, an unspoken presence throughout the book. Serff’s earnestness and emotionalism are frequently endearing and seldom cloying. This is a big-hearted novel concerned with life’s biggest questions. That its vulnerability and spiritual intensity are slightly out of fashion is more an indictment of our cynical culture than of the book itself. This story deserves a wide audience.