A Secret Kept

A Secret Kept
By Tatiana De Rosnay
St. Martin’s Press, 2010. 305 pgs. Fiction

Antoine surprises his sister Melanie for her fortieth birthday with a trip to the seaside resort they visited as children. But the relaxing trip concludes with a near fatal accident and some equally disruptive discoveries about their mother who died of a brain aneurysm thirty years ago. Antoine’s life, which was already spiraling down after his recent divorce, now seems to come completely unglued as Melanie fights for her life, his teenage children continue to pull away from him, and he struggles to connect with an always distant and now aging father.

This is a book about the secrets we keep in life and the unanswered questions we all leave at death. Antoine’s struggles are all very real and de Rosnay tells a story that gives readers a taste of closure, but the unmistakable reminder that real endings are never neat. When a life is unfairly shortened the world is left without answers to what could have been and those left behind must find a way to deal with the questions that will always remain. I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as “Sarah’s Key”, but it was an interesting read by a thoughtful author.

CZ