Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
An Accident in August: A Novel
In An Accident in August, Laurence Cossé takes one of the most famous news events of recent world history as the starting point for a novel as intelligent as it is gripping. On the now infamous night of August 31, 1997, a young woman's life is thrown into turmoil when fortune places her at the scene of the fatal car crash in which Lady Diana Frances Spencer, then Princess...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
August 30th 2011
by Europa Editions
(first published 2003)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
163)
Okay, Cosse' is obviously a great writer - but this is no A Novel Bookstore, unfortunately.
Lou[ise]'s life is irrevocably changed when she finds herself running from the scene of an accident that she may or may not have had a part in. Shaken and upset, she returns home and tries to pretend the accident never happened. However, she is immediately thrown off course when the next morning it is revealed that among the victims of that very accident was the one and only beloved Princess Diana.
I find...more
Lou[ise]'s life is irrevocably changed when she finds herself running from the scene of an accident that she may or may not have had a part in. Shaken and upset, she returns home and tries to pretend the accident never happened. However, she is immediately thrown off course when the next morning it is revealed that among the victims of that very accident was the one and only beloved Princess Diana.
I find...more
Mostly tedious but it redeems itself a bit at the end; I found myself rushing through it not to find out what happens, but to get it over with. Sorry.
The intriguing part has less to do with the mess after the Princess of Wales's death than with losing yourself, re-inventing yourself, hiding and protecting yourself.
The intriguing part has less to do with the mess after the Princess of Wales's death than with losing yourself, re-inventing yourself, hiding and protecting yourself.
August 31,1997. Princess Diana is killed in an auto accident in the tunnels of Paris. The papparazzi are implicated as contributing to the cause since Diana's vehicle was being pursued by them. But there is also the question of a slow moving vehicle which Diana's driver swerved to avoid. Was there or was there not another vehicle present and where did it go?
Lou, the driver of the mystery vehicle, takes off in fear. Only the next day does she realize she witnessed and may have contributed to Dian...more
Lou, the driver of the mystery vehicle, takes off in fear. Only the next day does she realize she witnessed and may have contributed to Dian...more
Princess Diana’s driver sideswipes Louise Origan’s little white Fiat Uno in a tunnel in Paris. Lou sees the Mercedes crash into a pillar, but she doesn’t stop. The next morning, she realizes who was in the car that crashed. This quick-reading book is about Lou’s efforts to hide, to deal with guilt, and to step out of one life and into another.
The most interesting part of the book is when Lou dithers for the first week or so after the accident. She can’t decide whether to run or to do nothing. Su...more
The most interesting part of the book is when Lou dithers for the first week or so after the accident. She can’t decide whether to run or to do nothing. Su...more
You know that feeling when you think you've done something really terrible? It's not like you are sure you are guilty, and it's probably not your fault, but there is a sneaking suspicion that maybe you could have done something differently or that if one thing had just gone differently, you would be relieved of this potential guilt?
This feeling is perfectly captured in An Accident in August by the same author as A Novel Bookstore and Bitter Almonds. The eponymous accident is the car wreck that...more
This feeling is perfectly captured in An Accident in August by the same author as A Novel Bookstore and Bitter Almonds. The eponymous accident is the car wreck that...more
Arrivata alla fine, ho girato pagina con la convinzione che quella non fosse assolutamente l'ultima.
Quando mi sono ritrovata di fronte ad una pagina bianca seguita dalla nota sull'autrice, sono rimasta sbalordita.
Cercavo un epilogo, una conclusione migliore di quello stralcio di dialogo quasi anonimo.
Non poteva finire così! Laurence, non puoi tenermi legata, in ansia per tutte queste pagine e poi improvvisamente lavartene le mani, lasciando tutto al caso e alle statistiche... Che rabbia!
Dopo i...more
Quando mi sono ritrovata di fronte ad una pagina bianca seguita dalla nota sull'autrice, sono rimasta sbalordita.
Cercavo un epilogo, una conclusione migliore di quello stralcio di dialogo quasi anonimo.
Non poteva finire così! Laurence, non puoi tenermi legata, in ansia per tutte queste pagine e poi improvvisamente lavartene le mani, lasciando tutto al caso e alle statistiche... Che rabbia!
Dopo i...more
If you were in France or at least in Europe on August 31, 1997, you probably remember how all the news focused for weeks on the event leading to Lay Diana’s death.
In this book, Laurence Cossé uses the accident but with a very smart and original twist. Not sure this ever showed up in the news back then, but her basic theory for the plot of the book is that the fast driving drunken chauffeur crashed into the bridge because he tried to avoid a car which was unfortunately too well respecting the spe...more
In this book, Laurence Cossé uses the accident but with a very smart and original twist. Not sure this ever showed up in the news back then, but her basic theory for the plot of the book is that the fast driving drunken chauffeur crashed into the bridge because he tried to avoid a car which was unfortunately too well respecting the spe...more
The accident that this title refers to was the car crash in the Paris tunnel involving Princess Diana. In this novel Cosse imagines an identity for the driver of the other vehicle in the tunnel that night who was never identified. This novel reminded me of "Crime and Punishment" a great deal because after the main character realizes that what happened that night was more than simply leaving the scene after being sideswiped by a speeding car she becomes paranoid every second that people know what...more
This title didn't begin auspiciously for me. It was slow going and I found the protagonist to be a whiner, most annoyingly so. But because I liked another of Cosse's books, A Novel Bookstore, I stuck with it and am glad I did. About a third of the way through this rather short novel the story took off in a surprisingly different direction and the story began to race along. Worth reading therefore.
well written psycho thriller of the lady that actually killed that princess and her saudi prince. her "bookstore" book is way better though A Novel Bookstore moral? cars are dangerous, be very careful.
In a tunnel in Paris on August 30, Lou is clipped by a Mercedes speeding by, then hitting a pillar. All she can think of is to get out of there. If you're guilty of hit and run and a princess dies, what do you do?
I didn't know if I was going to be able to get through the whole book. Cosse's writing is so good that it made Lou's anxiety palpable; I found that I was getting anxious just reading the story. I stuck with it and was glad I did; the plot was full of surprises.
Started off really promising, but lost its way in the middle. I still found it a good read, but ultimately it disappointed me.
I actually liked this a lot better than A Novel Bookstore. Very brief, very readable, very compelling. It definitely convinced me to look for more by Cosse.
Started out as something I couldn't put down and then took a tumble. One dimensional story and not that believable.
Well written. Predictable in places but surprising in others. Worth a read (reads very quickly).
Good premise but silly book.
Gripping, compelling and brought me back to the time of her passing. The (anti-)heroine is empathetic. I imagined myself in her position, like in the crucial scene on pg. 132, I thought through different escape scenarios and landed on the one she [Lou] eventually went with. I was shocked and a bit pleased that she picked the same choice I chose. The descriptions of French locales make me want to visit. I'd suggest this someone who likes books about Diana.
I quite like this Cosse Lady.
Disappointing to me, good premise as the person who accidentally caused Princess Diana's fatal accident, but portrayed as so one dimensional that I didn't care what happened to her. Slight interesting as a story of an individual whose life is overtaken by experiences often beyond her control.
I couldn't get into this book. I didn't like the stream of consciousness writing style, and the main character was a bit tedious.
4.5 stars
May 11, 2013
Merrill
marked it as to-read
Apr 24, 2013
Amanda
marked it as to-read
Apr 21, 2013
Sarah Martin
marked it as to-read
May 08, 2013
L Charles
marked it as started-but-quit
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
She was first a journalist in the French newspaper Le Quotidien de Paris and then at the French public radio France Culture. Most of her novels have been published by the French publishing house Gallimard.
More about Laurence Cossé...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Apr 06, 2012 07:14am
Apr 06, 2012 11:05am