After thoroughly enjoying reading and reviewing Sarah's Keys (2007) by Tatiana de Rosnay a couple of weeks ago, I decided to read her next novel, A Secret Kept (2010) and while not as engrossing as Sarah's Key, it was still a very good read. Set in France (mostly in the present day with a few flashbacks to the early 1970s), A Secret Kept follows the story of a middle-aged man, Antoine Rey, who is determined to figure out the family secret, which I won't reveal. In addition to ferreting out the family secret, Antoine's life has fallen apart - his wife has left him for another man, his teenage children are going through growing pains and angst, his relationships with his father, step-mother and grandmother are non-existent, and his career as an architect is in a shambles and unfulfilling. Even his relationship with his sister, while very committed and loving at the beginning of the book, starts to fall apart as he attempts to unearth the skeleton in the family closet. What I love best about Ms. de Rosnay's writing are her characters. These are flawed, very human characters whom we can all relate. We all have family issues of one sort or another and this book touches on all of them.
Some critics of this novel have blasted Antoine as being a "whiny, wimpy man who needs to grow some balls," but I disagree. This character was raised in a household (after the death of a warm and loving mother) where children were seen and not heard, with a tyrannical father, a disinterested step mother and 'very proper' grandparents. Manners and conformity were the lessons this character learned, which have been so ingrained into his personality that he doesn't know how to be any other way. I know people who are exactly like this. They don't want to fight so they just roll with the punches. Frustrating, yes! But understandable given his formative years.
I will say that I found the "family secret" to be very predictable and I had it figured out within the first couple of chapters. That being said, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I look forward to Ms. de Rosnay's next novel, The House I Loved scheduled to be released in February 2012.
Some critics of this novel have blasted Antoine as being a "whiny, wimpy man who needs to grow some balls," but I disagree. This character was raised in a household (after the death of a warm and loving mother) where children were seen and not heard, with a tyrannical father, a disinterested step mother and 'very proper' grandparents. Manners and conformity were the lessons this character learned, which have been so ingrained into his personality that he doesn't know how to be any other way. I know people who are exactly like this. They don't want to fight so they just roll with the punches. Frustrating, yes! But understandable given his formative years.
I will say that I found the "family secret" to be very predictable and I had it figured out within the first couple of chapters. That being said, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I look forward to Ms. de Rosnay's next novel, The House I Loved scheduled to be released in February 2012.
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