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The Art of Regret: A Novel
The Art of Regret: A Novel
The Art of Regret: A Novel
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The Art of Regret: A Novel

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Trevor McFarquhar lives a controlled, contrary existence. Traumatized by early childhood loss, the silence surrounding those losses, and then a sudden family relocation from the United States to France, he has no ambitions or dreams for his struggling Parisian bicycle shop or even for himself. Now in his late thirties, his romantic relationships are only casual—his friendships, few. He’s both aloof and exacting, holding everyone to his own high standards while being unforgiving of their faults.
But then two things happen. The 1995 transit strike forces Parisians through Trevor’s shop door to procure bicycles, and his once-sluggish business suddenly turns around. To his surprise, he is pleased. At the same time, Trevor enters into a relationship that threatens to destroy his relationship with his entire family. Humbled and ashamed, his veneer cracks, and he emerges from his cocoon a different man, ready to reconnect, to rediscover possibility, and ultimately to redeem himself.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 22, 2019
ISBN9781631526473
The Art of Regret: A Novel
Author

Mary Fleming

Mary Fleming, originally from Chicago, moved to Paris in 1981, where she worked as a freelance journalist and consultant. Before turning full time to writing fiction, she was the French representative for the American foundation The German Marshall Fund. A long-time board member of the French Fulbright Commission, Fleming continues to serve on the board of Bibliothèques sans Frontières. She and her husband have five grown children and split their time between Paris and Berlin. The Art of Regret is Fleming’s second novel. She writes a blog called A Paris-Berlin Diary at http://mf.ghost.io.

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Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Death seems to define this story. The lack of definition of the deaths and the surrounding wall of silence becomes the narrator’s all-consuming malaise. There isn’t a big story, just a well told, extremely descriptive blow by blow of a “predictable, independent life” that brings no inner peace. Relationships come, go, bloom, fall apart, much like anyone’s life. Mistakes are made, secrets are kept, that wall of silence is built hoping to protect yet ultimately having the converse effect. A relatable story that somehow felt off.My biggest problem with this book was the narrator, being a man. It felt like a woman. I just couldn’t connect. Not that the writing was bad or the story lacking both aspects were actually strong and good, but the feel, the fabric, was je ne sais quoi.Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for a copy.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a slow moving novel about life in everyday Paris. We get glimpses of the beautiful city when the main character walks or takes the Metro to other locations but instead of seeing the tourist side of Paris, we get a look at the way the residents live their lives.Trevor is a 30-something year old man who works in his bicycle shop and lives in a tiny apartment above the shop He moved from the US to Paris with his mother and brother after a family tragedy. He still has issues around his life in the US and can't seem to let them go and move on with his life. His main goal is to live a life without commitments -- to his family, to the women he dates or to his job. He had dreamed of being a photographer when he was younger but now he doesn't want to commit to it as his profession and is happy meandering through life and lazily running his bicycle shop.When a transit strike in Paris makes his bicycle shop very busy, Trevor makes a major error in his life that will further estrange him from his family. After several years when he re-connects with his mother and brother, Trevor begins to change as he hears secrets from his past that have kept him from living a full life.Even though this book is very slow-paced (sometimes too slow) watching Trevor change throughout the book is very interesting to read. Plus how you can you wrong with a book that leads you through the back roads and cafes of Paris.

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The Art of Regret - Mary Fleming

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