In this subtly haunting novel, a married woman confesses her encounter with a mysterious man, which threatens the stilted calm of life in a Paris suburb.
Echoing the acclaimed and unsettling film Sundays and Cybèle from 1962, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is suffused with the same feeling of disquiet: Two sisters meet as the light is fading in a detached house in Ville-d’Avray, each filled with the memory of their childhood hopes and fears, their insatiable desire for the romantic, for wild landscapes worthy of Jane Eyre, and for a mad love, all concealed beneath the appearance of a sensible life. Claire Marie, considered by most to be a dreamy, passive sort of person, suddenly breaks from the everyday by confiding in her sister about an unlikely meeting in this seemingly peaceful provincial town. To her listener’s amazement, she tells of her wanderings around the Fausses-Reposes forest, the Corot Ponds, and the suburban train stations, and the lurking dangers she encountered there.
In this arresting novel reminiscent of Simenon, Dominique Barbéris explores the great depths of the human soul, troubled like the waters of the ponds.
Genre: Mystery
Echoing the acclaimed and unsettling film Sundays and Cybèle from 1962, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is suffused with the same feeling of disquiet: Two sisters meet as the light is fading in a detached house in Ville-d’Avray, each filled with the memory of their childhood hopes and fears, their insatiable desire for the romantic, for wild landscapes worthy of Jane Eyre, and for a mad love, all concealed beneath the appearance of a sensible life. Claire Marie, considered by most to be a dreamy, passive sort of person, suddenly breaks from the everyday by confiding in her sister about an unlikely meeting in this seemingly peaceful provincial town. To her listener’s amazement, she tells of her wanderings around the Fausses-Reposes forest, the Corot Ponds, and the suburban train stations, and the lurking dangers she encountered there.
In this arresting novel reminiscent of Simenon, Dominique Barbéris explores the great depths of the human soul, troubled like the waters of the ponds.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"In a year with no days, the exquisite A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray precisely captures the haunted feeling of a bygone Sunday, the afternoon already too late, and the bittersweet homesickness of a moment’s end. This wistful novel, a sunbeam illuminating the rain-soaked moments of someone else’s ordinary tragedy, will stay with you for weeks." - Barbara Bourland
"What a beautiful and sly book this is—it casts a hypnotic spell readers won’t want to wake from, especially those who dream of France, of secrets, of the mysterious paths desire has us take." - Liam Callanan
"Quiet but suspenseful, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray tells the story of two sisters. As one sister recounts a strange episode from years before, the other’s perceptions begin to change. It’s an atmospheric and brooding novel, with secret desires and hidden regrets, images of Paris and its suburbs, and Barbéris’s prose evoking the psychological suspense of Henry James and Anita Brookner. Perfect for fans of Tessa Hadley and Alice Munro." - Sarah McCraw Crow
"A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is a mesmerizing tale of sisters, suburbia, and secrets. With evocative prose and a deep understanding of memory and family, author Dominique Barbéris spins a simple Sunday visit between adult sisters into a complex narrative about the dreams and desires of midlife women. Set aside a Sunday afternoon, pour yourself a glass of something, and dive into this subtle but haunting novel." - Lian Dolan
"When I opened this lovely novel, I fell into it as if I were in a trance, reading spellbound in one fell swoop. An eerie, unsettling story about the murkiness of truth and memory, and the difficulty of truly knowing another person, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray has haunted me since I finished the last page." - Katrina Kittle
"In A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray, Dominique Barbéris masterfully summons a world of ice, shadow, light, and darkness out of the Parisian suburbs. Two sisters create a prism of a narrative about what happens when we hope for something else, and the thrill and danger of subconscious desire. The resulting story is brilliant, reading like a chilly, poetic dream bound to come true." - Jardine Libaire
"A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is an exquisite inquiry into the nature of longing. Atmospheric, eloquent, and tinged with danger, it’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday. Simply, I loved this book." - Erika Swyler
"The experience of A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is less like reading a novel and more like falling in step with a real person, living a life both familiar and distinct, utterly credible and completely immersive. If you are a Francophile, if you disdain the suburbs, if you live in the suburbs, if you have or ever wanted a sibling…this book is for you." - Elizabeth Topp
"What a beautiful and sly book this is—it casts a hypnotic spell readers won’t want to wake from, especially those who dream of France, of secrets, of the mysterious paths desire has us take." - Liam Callanan
"Quiet but suspenseful, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray tells the story of two sisters. As one sister recounts a strange episode from years before, the other’s perceptions begin to change. It’s an atmospheric and brooding novel, with secret desires and hidden regrets, images of Paris and its suburbs, and Barbéris’s prose evoking the psychological suspense of Henry James and Anita Brookner. Perfect for fans of Tessa Hadley and Alice Munro." - Sarah McCraw Crow
"A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is a mesmerizing tale of sisters, suburbia, and secrets. With evocative prose and a deep understanding of memory and family, author Dominique Barbéris spins a simple Sunday visit between adult sisters into a complex narrative about the dreams and desires of midlife women. Set aside a Sunday afternoon, pour yourself a glass of something, and dive into this subtle but haunting novel." - Lian Dolan
"When I opened this lovely novel, I fell into it as if I were in a trance, reading spellbound in one fell swoop. An eerie, unsettling story about the murkiness of truth and memory, and the difficulty of truly knowing another person, A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray has haunted me since I finished the last page." - Katrina Kittle
"In A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray, Dominique Barbéris masterfully summons a world of ice, shadow, light, and darkness out of the Parisian suburbs. Two sisters create a prism of a narrative about what happens when we hope for something else, and the thrill and danger of subconscious desire. The resulting story is brilliant, reading like a chilly, poetic dream bound to come true." - Jardine Libaire
"A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is an exquisite inquiry into the nature of longing. Atmospheric, eloquent, and tinged with danger, it’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday. Simply, I loved this book." - Erika Swyler
"The experience of A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray is less like reading a novel and more like falling in step with a real person, living a life both familiar and distinct, utterly credible and completely immersive. If you are a Francophile, if you disdain the suburbs, if you live in the suburbs, if you have or ever wanted a sibling…this book is for you." - Elizabeth Topp
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