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La femme au carnet rouge

Antoine Laurain

3.86 · Rating details · 14,605 ratings · 2,390 reviews

Un soir à Paris, une jeune femme se fait agresser devant son immeuble. À son grand désespoir, le voleur s'enfuit avec son sac à main – autant dire une part d'elle-même qu'elle pense alors à jamais perdue. C'est compter sans Laurent Letellier, sympathique libraire qui découvre le sac abandonné dans la rue. S'il ne contient plus ni portable, ni papiers d'identité, il recèle ...more

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Published March 5th 2014 by Flammarion

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Jul 15, 2019 Nat K rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paris, 2019-books, buddy-reads, contemporary, love-romance, français

J'adore! Sometimes you need to read a love story. And to believe that good things can happen to good people. This is told with such beautiful simplicity. It is gentle and caresses you, like a soft cashmere sweater.

In a city of millions, are two souls destined to meet? I'm sure you've already guessed the answer to that. It's a tried and true formula. One that can either be ordinary or can lift your spirits. This is the latter.

With Parisian charm, what starts with the petty crime of a bag snatchin ...more

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Apr 18, 2016 Cathrine ☯️ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Anyone needing refreshment

Shelves: group-book-of-the-month, group-challenge

4★

Jim Nelson at Food & Wine writes that "An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage served before a meal to stimulate the appetite without overwhelming the senses and distinct from anything you have been served back home. It is light and refraissant as the French would say."

How perfectly that describes this little gem. At just 159 generously spaced pages, you can read it in one sitting.
There is lovely Laure. She is an artist, a gilder. She has been mugged and her bag stolen. There are items inside th ...more

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Feb 08, 2015 Raven rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Being some one with a rather cynical attitude to the whole idea of love and romance, I found my icy heart delightfully thawed by this book. It is poignant, touching, peppered with literary references, witty and quite simply perfect...A must read- even for old cynics like me!

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Oct 31, 2017 abby rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, fiction, contemporary, translated

Whatever charm this book is supposed to possess escapes me. If it had been any longer, I wouldn't have bothered to finish it. I found it boring, and the romance is stalkerish instead of cute.

This book starts with a woman getting mugged for her handbag, and a bookseller finding the remnants of said bag the next day in a dumpster. Based on the contents of the bag, which includes a host of items no woman would logically carry around with her, like the only copies of photos of her deceased parents, ...more

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Jun 06, 2016 Camie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

To be filed under charming little books translated from French. When Laurent the owner of a bookstore in Paris finds a handbag abandoned in a trash bin his life changes forever. Certainly no woman ever abandons a lovely pocketbook. With only the clues given in the bag's contents which includes a small red notebook of random thoughts can he ever find it's owner ?
Short, sweet, and surely soon to be film material.
KUYH Club June - 4 stars ...more

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Jan 03, 2016 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-in-translation, 2016-books

What do you carry in your handbag? Are the items intriguing enough to make someone want to meet you, even if they only saw the contents of your bag and knew nothing else about you?

This charming, romantic, and oh, so French, book hit the right spot after a few enjoyable (but heavy) reads. In this tale, sophisticated Parisian Laure is mugged after a late night out. Her attacker runs off with her handbag. The next morning, book store owner Laurent finds Laure's bag (minus her wallet and any ID) on ...more

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Jun 04, 2015 Bianca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, arc, multiple-povs, contemporary, male-author, french-authors

I'm jumping with joy and exhilaration having just finished a charming and very delightful novel. Exactly what I was after! A perfect Sunday afternoon companion. Well, a perfect companion, regardless of the day of the week or season.

I loved everything about the Red Notebook. The writing is simple but has a beautiful flow. The main characters, Laurent and Laure, are well drawn and interesting. It was refreshing to read a romantic book with middle-aged protagonists. The plot was lovely and romanti ...more

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Aug 21, 2019 Libby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, read-in-2019, philosophy, published-2014, translation

This is a delightfully charming and whimsical tale, whose movie rights have already been sold to Union Générale Cinématographique (UCG). The translation of this French novel transported me to the streets of Paris, where Laurent Leteillier, bookseller and owner of bookstore, Le Cahier Rouge (The Red Notebook) has found a purse on the top of a garbage bin. Laurent is definitely a character I want to know more about. His capacity for laughing at himself, the fact that he’s taught his sixteen-year-o ...more

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Mar 04, 2020 Jessaka rated it liked it · review of another edition

A Fun Clean Flip

I was looking for a heavier book to read, one like what Cormac McCarthy would write, but I found this one instead. I liked the title, so settled on it. I have noticed of late that many romance books have nice titles, and titles can easily draw me to them. Of course, most of the time I am disappointed and stop reading them. This book was not disappointing; it was charming and a clean flip, as they are called here at the Tahlequah library in Oklahoma. A clean flip is a book with pa A Fun Clean Flip

I was looking for a heavier book to read, one like what Cormac McCarthy would write, but I found this one instead. I liked the title, so settled on it. I have noticed of late that many romance books have nice titles, and titles can easily draw me to them. Of course, most of the time I am disappointed and stop reading them. This book was not disappointing; it was charming and a clean flip, as they are called here at the Tahlequah library in Oklahoma. A clean flip is a book with pages that flip and clean means no sex, no vulgar language, and probably no violence. But maybe you all know this, and I have only been introduced to it since moving here.

It takes place in the city of Paris and is sprinkled with French words, words that I don’t know how to spell, because it was an audio and had no spell check. I didn’t understand the words either, but that didn’t seem to matter.

It was also a mystery of sorts: A middle-aged woman came home one night and got mugged in front of her apartment building. She tries to fight back by grabbing her purse, but the man was stronger. I wondered why she didn’t carry a weapon of sorts. I mean, even I have an arsenal at home: pepper spray, mace, air horn, and a police whistle. The air horn wasn’t a good idea, as it will blow your socks off. I only needed the mace once, and this was when I was living in Berkeley. I drove into my apartment parking garage and felt that someone was in there, so I got out my mace and got out of the car. A man was just walking into the garage towards me, and I pulled out my mace. He left. I was lucky.

This woman, in this story, whose French name I do not know, was not lucky. He pushed her into the building where she bumped her head, and then he run off with her purse. What is more, she was without a key to her apartment.

A distinguished gentleman was walking down the street the next morning and found her purse on a bin. What is a bin? I can only guess that it is a garbage bin, and that the French don’t use the word garbage or that this gentleman refuses to use it. I don’t know. Maybe it was a potato bin.

Well, he looks inside the purse and sees that many of her belongings are gone and realizes that she had been mugged. He takes the purse home and pours its contents out on the couch to look them over for clues as to who she is. She has more things in her purse than I could imagine would fit into it. And since her phone and wallet are gone, well, that must have been a huge purse What did the thief leave? Lipstick, a bottle of perfume, a red notebook, a book that had been signed by a famous author, and some keepsakes. Now, the gentleman believes that he would really like her because of the contents in her purse, and so he wants to find her. He is in love. So, acting as a sleuth, he sets out to find her.

And when the story ended, I went back to my search for a heavier book and found William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” I suppose after reading it, I will be looking for another light read. ...more

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Jul 13, 2019 Collin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Let me just start by saying, and don’t ask me why, but if a book has a bookshop in it, then I nearly always like it.

Laure realises how much the little things matter in our modern world when her handbag is violently stolen from her at 2am in the morning right outside her building. She has no key to get into her apartment, she has no phone to call her friends, she has no credit card or money to pay for a room in the motel across from her apartment building. Luckily the elderly gentleman at the cou Let me just start by saying, and don’t ask me why, but if a book has a bookshop in it, then I nearly always like it.

Laure realises how much the little things matter in our modern world when her handbag is violently stolen from her at 2am in the morning right outside her building. She has no key to get into her apartment, she has no phone to call her friends, she has no credit card or money to pay for a room in the motel across from her apartment building. Luckily the elderly gentleman at the counter realises that her story is a truthful one and allows her to stay in a room overnight and pay for it the next day. However, when the next day comes and check out time has been and gone the staff send somebody to her room. They find her in bed, in what appears to be a coma, with blood on her pillow from a head wound.

Laurent’s biggest problem is that his electric shaver is on the fritz and the water has been turned off for the day, leaving his reflection in the mirror looking quite dishevelled. Laurent is the owner of a bookshop that he bought off an old couple when it was a café. Because there is a flat connected to the shop, Laurent makes sure that he goes for a walk each morning for exercise. This morning he is bewildered to find a stylish mauve leather handbag sitting peacefully atop a garbage bin. Because it is enigmatically sitting atop the bin rather than in it, he can not resist the urge to open it and have a quick peek inside. Realising that it is full, and that it will either end up in the garbage when it’s collected, or more likely be stolen again, he decides to hand it in to the police, whose station is only a brisk walk away. At the station he is told to hand it into Lost and Found so for the moment he keeps it.
That night Laurent ponders on whether to look through the bag or not. While deliberating he realises that he has never been through the contents of a woman’s handbag before. It just seems morally wrong, an unwritten rule, and by opening it he will have crossed a line and become one of the persons with dubious scruples.

Hours later he is still reading the red notebook that he found in the handbag. Guiltily he finds himself unable to stop, unable to put it down and stop reading. There is a great passage here,

“He had opened a door into the soul of the woman with the mauve bag and even though he felt what he was doing was inappropriate, he couldn’t stop himself from reading on.”

Amongst the belongings in the bag, Laurent finds a book penned by a reclusive legendary author, an author who hadn’t done any signings or interviews for years, personally signed to the owner of the bag. He now at least knows her first name.

Instead of losing interest in what seems a hopeless case, his obsession to find Laure grows and grows. It’s a format that has been done many times before and needs to be exceptionally written for it to rise above the other books of similar ilk. I am delighted to say that this is the case. As it is such a short novel, I don’t want to say any more for fear of spoilers, the narrative is brilliantly crafted, but to explain why would spoil the story. A thoroughly enjoyable read, which is very hard to put down once you start.

This was the fifth buddy read with Nat K and it was her pick. I would just like to thank her for introducing me to this wonderful author, I will be reading more of his work, and please check out her review when she posts it. 4 Stars!
...more

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Jun 09, 2016 Myrna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-ebook

A great story reminiscent of Sleepless in Seattle and Goodnight Tweetheart with a beautiful French setting. The main characters are well developed and intertwine through a stolen purse. The adolescent daughter, Chloé, is my favorite because she added humor and sensibility. One sees the conclusion but enjoys the ride, nonetheless. If you are looking for a short, sweet, unique story, read this one with possibly a café au lait and an èclair.

...more

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Sep 09, 2018 Jaya rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dont-know-where-else-to-put-it, kindle, palate-cleansers, liebesgeschichte, popsugar-18, europe-ger-fr-ily, mmxviii

A soujourn in Paris on an otherwise mundane Sunday. That was predictable but nevetheless, a whimsical palate cleanser.

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Jun 05, 2015 Jane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed

This is a lovely little book: a bittersweet romantic comedy that captivated me from the very first page.

A young woman, Laure, arrives home late at night, after dinner with friends. As she arrives at her apartment block somebody tries to snatch her handbag. She resists, but she is shoved against the door frame and her bag slips from her grasp.

She can’t get through the security door without her keys; she can’t call anyone because she relied on the mobile phone in her bag to remember their numbers; ...more

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Oct 03, 2020 Javier rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Part a charming love story written with characteristic parisian charm, part an enthralling mystery about the nostalgic for what could have been and chasing the unknown, “The red notebook” is an endearing fairy tale.

This is not your typical love story. Laurent falls in love with a woman he creates in his head through the objects she keeps in her handbag. He’s never met Laure. He doesn’t know her name, where she lives or what her job is, but he knows he has to find her no matter what.

Beautifully w ...more

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Apr 29, 2016 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: r2016, french, stars-4-0, r2019, literary

Re-read

Is there anything better than to spend a whole Saturday morning reading a charming story? The premise is so simple and yet so engrossing. Laurent, a bookshop owner in his 40s, finds a ladies' handbag one morning and decides to find its rightful owner. Little by little, he becomes fascinated by the mysterious woman, imagining her from the eclectic mix of possessions found in the said bag, and the reader follows, willingly in my case. After the first few pages, I was sold. The book is pure ...more

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Feb 01, 2015 Claire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: around-the-world, french-literature, translated

Intrigued and incensed in equal measure, as a notebook toting woman myself, I wanted to know more of this story centred around a character whose red notebook, containing handwritten thoughts and random PRIVATE jottings, has fallen into the hands of the curious bookseller, Monsieur Laurent Letellier.

Recognising it as a handbag of quality and not something intended to be thrown out, when Monsieur Letellier comes across the abandoned handbag on a Parisian street early one morning, he picks it up in Intrigued and incensed in equal measure, as a notebook toting woman myself, I wanted to know more of this story centred around a character whose red notebook, containing handwritten thoughts and random PRIVATE jottings, has fallen into the hands of the curious bookseller, Monsieur Laurent Letellier.

Recognising it as a handbag of quality and not something intended to be thrown out, when Monsieur Letellier comes across the abandoned handbag on a Parisian street early one morning, he picks it up intending to hand it in at the police station, which he almost succeeds in doing, except, you know, French bureaucracy, it will require a one hour wait and he has a shop to open up, so plans to return later. Only later becomes much, much later and the police station is not where he will return it to.

The bag belongs to Laure, a woman we meet in the opening pages as she clutches her handbag to her detriment, metres from her apartment, only to be shoved against a metal door frame, losing the bag anyway. Without keys, and despite it being 2am, she manages to check into the hotel opposite, promising to pay in the morning, by which time she will have fallen into a coma.

Once the bag comes home with the bookseller, it becomes a major temptation and much of the book is spent on various dilemmas arising as a consequence of his inaction, which in turn provoke memories of past events. The longer it stays with him, the more trouble it causes and the more intrigued he becomes by its owner, despite recognising his chances at redemption grow slimmer as each day passes.

One of the items the bookseller discovers is a signed copy of Accident Nocturne by Patrick Modiano which leads him to track down the reclusive author, known to frequent Luxembourg Gardens most mornings. As a bookseller, he knows how rare book signings by this author are, so hopes the author may lead him to the woman.

The Modiano cameo intrigued me, particularly as he'd just won The 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature, was that the reason to mention him, I wondered? And then I read Helen's Mad About The Books review of Dora Bruder and found an even better reason for the reference to this esteemed author.

In Dora Bruder, Modiano tells how in 1988 he stumbled across an ad in the personal columns of the 1941 New Year's Eve edition of Paris Soir. The ad had been placed by the parents of 15-year-old Jewish girl Dora Bruder, who had run away from the Catholic boarding school where she'd been living.

It set the author off on an obsessive quest to find out everything he could about Dora Bruder and why during the most dangerous period of the German occupation of Paris, she had run away from those protecting her. But that's another story and book, so see Helen's review below for more on that extraordinary tale.

The Red Notebook has little of the hardship and tragedy of Dora Bruder, it reads more like a book that could be made into an entertaining romantic comedy, it has all the ingredients, the streets and bookshops of Paris, an artists' workshop, handbags and their intriguing taboo contents, a jealous girlfriend and a lippy adolescent daughter. Watch this space I say!

Personally, I found it wonderful to discover an author who can do uplifting, feel good stories that push the right buttons for booklovers without becoming sentimental or too romantic. Of the ending isn't realistic, but it was fun getting there.

If you like a glimpse of local life in Paris, characters who observe bookshelves and mention what others characters are reading, people who write in notebooks, the short form novella and an uplifting story, that could quite likely turn into a beautiful film, then keep an eye out for The Red Notebook. ...more

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Dec 26, 2015 Primrose Jess rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Oh!!! What a charmer of a little book! I was swept up in a modern love story with all the classic elements steeped in the tradition of courtly love. How Laurain takes his reader at a rapid pace of a story without the feeling of rushing the story... I can't explain. I have never encountered a story telling style of this manner. My little copy is dog eared with pages for me to go back to to mull over sentences that struck me and I even underlined a few with pencil that especially stood out. I com ...more

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Feb 24, 2020 HBalikov rated it liked it · review of another edition

"‘It’s the story of a bookseller who finds a handbag in the street one day, takes it home with him, empties out its contents and decides to look for the woman who owns it.” {This is not a promo quotation, it was taken from the book’s text.}

The Red Notebook is a very cozy and light tale of a lonely middle-age man who has settled into his life as the proprietor of a very reader-friendly bookshop in a corner of Paris, France.

His decision to pursue the mystery of an unknown owner of a handbag aband ...more

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Aug 26, 2016 Dana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 A charming little French jewel to read when you want something light and entertaining. Very sweet.

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Nov 29, 2016 Lyuda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club, contemporary

Uplifting and charming story of two lonely souls finding each other through the mystery of a stolen bag in Paris. It echoes both Amélie and While You Were Sleeping . Part of its charm comes from the city of Paris itself - it is so wonderfully described and makes me want to hop on a plane and go visit it again.

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Jun 21, 2015 Jayme rated it really liked it · review of another edition

More of a novella, (96 pages on the IPAD) which will make you think of words like whimsical and fanciful! :-)

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Sep 08, 2015 Çimen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2016, goodreads-good

An abandoned woman’s handbag finds its way to the hands of a Parisian bookseller, Laurent, who after an unfruitful attempt to leave it at a police station decides to take it with him for the time being. Later at home, he takes up examining the contents of the bag so as to find a clue about its owner and finds himself-unintentionally at first, irrevocably later- spiraling through the life of the bag’s mysterious owner.

I must admit that if you haven’t really liked Laurent up to this point, his fu An abandoned woman’s handbag finds its way to the hands of a Parisian bookseller, Laurent, who after an unfruitful attempt to leave it at a police station decides to take it with him for the time being. Later at home, he takes up examining the contents of the bag so as to find a clue about its owner and finds himself-unintentionally at first, irrevocably later- spiraling through the life of the bag’s mysterious owner.

I must admit that if you haven’t really liked Laurent up to this point, his future actions might seem a bit bizarre and even creepy. I chose to view it though a romantic perspective and I suspect his occupation as a bookseller greatly improved my opinion of him. Also, I liked the fact that he was a bit shy and nervous about the whole business, as his upbringing had thought him that the contents of a woman’s handbag were almost sacred and certainly off-limits. As the bag begins to spill its secrets, as Laurent goes through the items one by one, he finds himself picturing this woman in his head and starts to feel strangely drawn into this mystery. The red notebook he discovers opens up a whole new level of interest, because then he finds little bits of irrelevant yet highly personal and private thoughts of the owner. It is like a small window into the life of this mysterious woman, and Laurent finds himself drawn in.

I won’t go into any more details but it was a rather nice little book. The other characters and the details strewn into the story added to the flavor. 3.5 stars. I’m afraid I was a bit distracted when I read it and didn’t feel connected to it as I hoped I would be. But still a good read.

Can you experience nostalgia for something that hasn’t happened? We talk of ‘regrets’ about the course of our lives, when we are almost certain we have taken the wrong decision; but one can also be enveloped in a sweet and mysterious euphoria, a sort of nostalgia for what might have been…

…we can pass right by something very important: love, a job, moving to another city or another country. Or another life. ‘Pass by’ and at the same time be ‘so close’ that sometimes, while in that state of melancholy that is akin to hypnosis, we can, in spite of everything, manage to grab little fragments of what might have been. Like catching snatches of a far-off radio frequency. The message is obscure, yet by listening carefully you can still catch snippets of the soundtrack of the life that never was…

…We passed by, we passed so close that something of the experience remains.
...more

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May 19, 2017 Joanna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Hey Book Peeps

I came across this book from a Booktuber who mentioned it and because of the premise (guy finds girl's handbag, tries to find her and while doing so reads her red notebook and starts to fall for her) I decided to give it a try. This is my first adult fiction book of the year and it is closer to a 2.5 star rating for the actual story. It got an additional 0.5 star more because of the great performance by the narrator.

I listened to this via audiobook and I started it once earlier thi Hey Book Peeps

I came across this book from a Booktuber who mentioned it and because of the premise (guy finds girl's handbag, tries to find her and while doing so reads her red notebook and starts to fall for her) I decided to give it a try. This is my first adult fiction book of the year and it is closer to a 2.5 star rating for the actual story. It got an additional 0.5 star more because of the great performance by the narrator.

I listened to this via audiobook and I started it once earlier this month but it quickly didn't hold my interest and I stopped. I think I just wasn't in the right mood to listen to it at the time and I was considering returning it back to the library. I stopped myself because I wanted to give it a try and I knew that if I returned it to the library without reading it this time; I was never going to find it again. So I let it linger in my Overdrive app until a few days ago and this time around I paid attention.

I am going to say, as I always seem to do when reviewing audiobooks :), that I loved the narrator Alex Wyndham. He moved from a very crispy English accent to a very good French accent surprisingly well. Anytime there was actual french spoken, it rolled off his tongue so well that I was throughly surprised. I enjoyed it very much and if it had come off comical in any way I know it would have ruined the book for me.

The plot itself was even paced. It was like a steady walk. No hills either up or down and no crazy obstacles. Just a straight and steady walk. I found that sometimes the circumstances were too conveniently laid out for Laurent, our male MC, when he was trying to find her. (view spoiler) That for me was just highly unlikely and from then on it kind of read like one of those whimsical rom coms like Serendipity the movie. Its pretty much the only thing that was running through my mind as a way to reference what this book feels like genre wise.

Now the characters are like the people on this walk analogy I have going. They are present but not memorable expect for Laurent's daughter Chloe who is a bit of an obnoxious brat. Laurent needed to get her under control cause her candor lacked a bit of tact. Laure, the female MC, seemed like someone I wouldn't necessarily like a lot. I don't hate her but she came off a bit arrogant at times and that just put me off a bit. Laurent was just as his character was supposed to be portrayed as, unassuming. He existed but was not memorable. He always accommodating everyone and left nothing to himself. He felt like loneliness and passiveness and I felt sorry for him most of the time. I will give him this, he is determined.

Overall it was an okay read but it is not something I will actively be trying to reread or purchase. I feel like this book is too mundane compared to all the other books that I want to read at this moment. I think that if you like that more whimsical rom com read or you like more adult fiction you might enjoy this more than me.

Happy Reading

Jo ...more

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May 03, 2015 Lindsay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'd seen quite a lot of positive feedback for this book on social media over the past six weeks so when I was given a WH Smith voucher for Easter from my daughter this is the book I chose. There's been lots of tweets with #therednotebook and #inmyhandbag hashtags to promote the book so I was really looking forward to reading it.

At only 159 pages this is a book that needed to and does get straight into the action; no mincing about, the story starts with the theft of the bag and how Laurent finds ...more

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Feb 19, 2016 Mo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Recommended

Shelves: 0-dl, 2016, contemporary, w-brk, charming, w-ebooks, books-about-books, book-of-the-year

photo aa5fe18e-dada-4244-8303-ae71a2c840ff_zps626ce42a.jpg

UPDATE: My favorite book read in 2016

I was captivated from the very first page of this slim little novel. I think I’ll be hard pressed to read anything this year that I will enjoy more than this one. (UPDATE: I was right!)

I LOVED this author’s manner of turning a phrase. Here are some of my favorites:

‘Watching someone sleep is like reading a letter that’s not addressed to you.’

‘They had kept their relationship going like two poker players who continue late into the night, shuffling their ...more

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Oct 01, 2020 Sam (AMNReader) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2020, romance, audible

I think I picked this up as a freebie from audible. I have no other explanations. Or maybe...ah...Alex Wyndham. Well, there is that.

I'm willing to debate that this book is full of universal truths. You may call them cliches. I'm willing for you to tell me it's silly, far-fetched, oversimplified and the like.
And I'll say "So?"

It is worth the investment (3.5 rounded down b/c I won't relisten)-it's short and it's really sweet. Why?
This book is like a warm hot cocoa on a cold day. Only you get to ...more

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Sep 08, 2015 Antonomasia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novella, france, 2015, decade-2010s, el, francophonie

Recommended by : being top of the non-spammy-looking votes here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Like another novella I read recently, Reader for Hire, this is one of those upbeat, slightly twee French film comedies in book form. Only The Red Notebook is more so, because a) it's a romcom b) it reads like it was created with film options in mind (successfully so).

I really like this post about the process of rating a fluffy book that was enjoyable and right at the time, though not as, uh, ...more

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Oct 27, 2018 John rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It's not often that I agree with anything the Daily Torygraph says, but the quote from that newspaper's review on the front cover of The Red Notebook more or less says it all: "A gem."[*] I couldn't help thinking, as I read this short novel, that this is what I'd hoped Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop would be like.

Late one night in Paris, craft gilder Laure Valadier is mugged as she returns to her apartment, and her chic handbag (purse) is stolen. The next day divorced local booksell ...more

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Apr 30, 2016 Erin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-borrowed

I feel the need to state up front that when it comes to romance driven books or cinematic "rom-coms", I'm a bit of a cynic complete with eye-rolls and emitting gagging sounds.. But this darling little bit of a book (exactly 159 pages), whispered "give me a chance" and so I did.

Once I began reading,I felt myself transported to this Parisian love story where by a strange series of events, two strangers become something more. I credit it to Antoine Laurain because he made me fall hook, line, and si ...more

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Jul 25, 2018 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: france, books-about-books, just-for-fun

Bookseller Laurent finds a purse abandoned in the streets of Paris, and he looks inside to try to find information in order to return it to its owner. Inside is a red notebook, and, almost against his will, he begins to read it. Can a person fall in love with a person one has never met simply by reading the person's secret thoughts?

The Red Notebook is a fun romp of a book, with action, adventure, mystery, romance, and, of course, Paris. ...more

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About Antoine Laurain

Antoine Laurain

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Antoine Laurain was born in Paris and is a journalist, antiques collector and the author of five novels. The President’s Hat, a charming fable set in the Mitterrand years, was awarded the Prix Landerneau Découvertes and the Prix Relay in 2012 and is published in English by Gallic. It was a Waterstones Book Club book and ABA Indies Introduce pick in 2013. Antoine was chosen to represent France at E ...more

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Quotes from La femme au carne...

“If there was one thing that defined adolescence it was hysterical laughter. You never laughed like that again. In adolescence the brutal realisation that the world and life were completely absurd made you laugh until you couldn’t catch your breath, whereas in later life it would only result in a weary sigh.” — 38 likes

“How many things do we feel obliged to do for the sake of it, or for appearances, or because we are trained to do them, but which weigh us down and don’t in fact achieve anything?” — 34 likes

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