His Brother

Lucas's brother Thomas is dying. At their childhood holiday home, the two brothers wait for Lucas to die. Besson's dispassionate observation of disease and death is haunting, as he portrays the inability of others to cope with Thomas' illness and the petty cruelties of the medical system. Interwoven with the chronicle of Thomas' death are the brothers' memories of their childhood and adolescence, their jealousies and rivalries, their unspoken bond. As those around them withdraw from this inexplicable, inexorable death, Lucas and Thomas retreat to their childhood paradise to wait for the end.


Genre: Literary Fiction