The Travels of Daniel Ascher by Deborah Levy-Bertherat, translated by Adriana Hunter– 208 pages
ARC from Net Galley
Book Blurb:
Who is the real author of The Black Insignia? Is it H. R. Sanders, whose name is printed on the cover of every installment of the wildly successful young adult adventure series? Or is it Daniel Roche, the enigmatic world traveler who disappears for months at a time? When Daniel’s great-niece, Hélène, moves to Paris to study archeology, she does not expect to be searching for answers to these questions. As rumors circulate, however, that the twenty-fourth volume of The Black Insignia series will be the last, Hélène and her friend Guillaume, a devoted fan of her great-uncle’s books, set out to discover more about the man whose life eludes her. In so doing, she uncovers an explosive secret dating back to the darkest days of the Occupation. In recounting the moment when one history began and another ended, The Travels of Daniel Ascher explores the true nature of fiction: is it a refuge, a lie, or a stand-in for mourning?
My Review: 3.5 stars
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It’s no wonder this short book has won many awards in France as its few words are both powerful and insightful. This book is written without quotation marks and often many characters are speaking within the same page. There is often a lack of capitalization however none of that bothered me. It still read quickly. There were ultimately two levels of meaning to the book. One could read this as a quick adventure/mystery story, or on a deeper level, be read to uncover the pain Daniel Ascher was hiding inside from the Holocaust.
Daniel’s stories come alive through the YA books he writes and it’s up to Helene, his niece, and the reader to uncover the deeper meanings.
With well-developed characters and good use of imagery, I suspect this will book will be highly received in the US.
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