[close] Madame tells the story of a charmingly self-absorbed teenager as he pursues sexual and intellectual maturity—and the woman of his dreams—in Communist-dominated Warsaw of the early '70s. His French teacher, "Madame," is the object of both his affections and aspirations as news of the Cultural Revolution in the West seeps through the Communist walls. Libera paces his exuberant young hero's fulminations, fantasies, and discoveries beautifully, building a remarkably subtle characterization of a free mind in a repressive culture. Recalling The Graduate and even the romantic films of Truffaut, Libera gives us one of the most wily, unforgettable, and unabashed young narrators in contemporary fiction. [close]