62: On “The Margot Affair” with Sanaë Lemoine

I’ve been doing a lot of reading this summer and was delighted to discover the work of Sanaë Lemoine, a first-time novelist. Her book, “The Margot Affair”, was an editor’s choice by The New York Times shortly after it was released in June for its “lush, lyrical prose that perfectly captures the heightened emotion and confusion of being a young woman with a bruised heart and limited experience”. The book follows Margot Louve, the secret daughter of a French politician and a famous actress as she drops this startling revelation that will shatter her family. It asks us all to consider how we would handle being part of a hidden family and how one decision can change the course of our lives. I’m thrilled to be joined by the author to talk about her process, the book’s inspiration, and her own journey from Paris to Australia to America, a few other places in between. Mentioned in this episode: Buy “The Margot Affair” https://bookshop.org/a/3892/9781984854438 Sanaë Lemoine’s work: https://www.sanaelemoine.com/ NYT book review: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/books/review-margot-affair-sanae-lemoine.html Mitterand affair: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/books/in-francois-mitterrand-letters-an-intimate-portrait-of-the-other-woman.html Recipe from the book: https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/08/mathildes-tomato-tart/

Om Podcasten

In a country like France, where tradition reigns supreme, even a suggestion of change or newness has long been met with scepticism by locals. This is no longer the case, offers writer and adopted Parisian Lindsey Tramuta in The New Paris podcast, a side dish to her bestselling books “The New Paris” and “The New Parisienne”. Here, with an assortment of other local experts, she takes a closer look at the people, places and ideas that are changing the fabric of the storied French capital.