The Mercy Room,
by Gilles Rozie
If I had believed the churlish review in Publisher's Weekly, I would have
missed this mercifully short but compelling novel. This simple book of survival
in occupied France seduces you with the beautiful translation by Anthea Bell of
Asterix fame. The story has the attention to detail and the spareness of a
screen play but the raw sex and unrelenting dread would be impossible to sit
through. A film has to have some underlying thread of hope to succeed. I
couldn't have watched the movie, but I couldn't stop reading the book.
-Marcia
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