The Wide World: An epic novel of family fortune, twisted secrets and love - the first volume in THE GLORIOUS YEARS series
Pierre Lemaitre
Jul 2023 · Tinder Press · Narrated by Philip Bird
headphones
Audiobook
17 hr 40 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
reportRatings and reviews aren’t verified Learn More
Want a 1 hr 46 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
From Beirut in 1948, to Saigon and Paris, this is the story of the Pelletier family, rich with corruption, death, blackmail - and murder. The first volume of THE GLORIOUS YEARS series, translated by Frank Wynne
'Literature with conviction; a furious talent' L'Obs
Beirut, 1948. The Pelletier family returns...
The Pelletiers are a prominent French family living in Beirut. The patriarch, Louis, has built a successful business manufacturing and exporting artisanal soaps. He hoped to pass the business on to his eldest son, Jean, but Jean doesn't have the sharpness or aptitude for such an enterprise. After nearly running the company into the ground, Jean marries a money-grubbing young woman who quickly makes him miserable, and they emigrate to Paris. But there's another reason Jean must leave - he has committed a terrible crime...
His brother, Etienne, travels to Saigon, where he soon uncovers irregularities in the local currency office and begins investigating what he believes is a scheme to channel smuggled goods and cash to the Viet Minh. It is evidence that presents a real threat to his own life.
François, the middle Pelletier brother, has gone to Paris, ostensibly to study, but finds himself working as a journalist. His career flies when he reports on the brutal murder of an actress in a cinema ladies' room. It seems a serial killer is on the loose.
'You have the ingredients Balzac would have cooked with. And it is exactly those great 19th century novels that Lemaitre will remind you of' Sunday Times
'Pierre Lemaitre skilfully captivates and stuns the reader' Le Figaro
(P)2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
'Literature with conviction; a furious talent' L'Obs
Beirut, 1948. The Pelletier family returns...
The Pelletiers are a prominent French family living in Beirut. The patriarch, Louis, has built a successful business manufacturing and exporting artisanal soaps. He hoped to pass the business on to his eldest son, Jean, but Jean doesn't have the sharpness or aptitude for such an enterprise. After nearly running the company into the ground, Jean marries a money-grubbing young woman who quickly makes him miserable, and they emigrate to Paris. But there's another reason Jean must leave - he has committed a terrible crime...
His brother, Etienne, travels to Saigon, where he soon uncovers irregularities in the local currency office and begins investigating what he believes is a scheme to channel smuggled goods and cash to the Viet Minh. It is evidence that presents a real threat to his own life.
François, the middle Pelletier brother, has gone to Paris, ostensibly to study, but finds himself working as a journalist. His career flies when he reports on the brutal murder of an actress in a cinema ladies' room. It seems a serial killer is on the loose.
'You have the ingredients Balzac would have cooked with. And it is exactly those great 19th century novels that Lemaitre will remind you of' Sunday Times
'Pierre Lemaitre skilfully captivates and stuns the reader' Le Figaro
(P)2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
About the author
Pierre Lemaitre was born in Paris in 1951. He worked for many years as a teacher of literature before becoming a novelist.
He has won the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger three times, once alongside Fred Vargas, for Alex, and twice as sole winner for Camille and The Great Swindle. In 2013 The Great Swindle (published in French as Au revoir là-haut won the Prix Goncourt, France's leading literary award.
In addition to his Brigade Criminelle novels starring Commandant Camille Verhoeven, Lemaitre writes standalone thrillers including Blood Wedding.
Frank Wynne is an award-winning writer and translator. His previous translations include works by Virginie Despentes, Javier Cercas and Michel Houllebecq. He chaired the jury of the 2022 Booker International. Most recently his translation of The Art of Losing won the 2022 Dublin Literary Award.
He has won the Crime Writers' Association International Dagger three times, once alongside Fred Vargas, for Alex, and twice as sole winner for Camille and The Great Swindle. In 2013 The Great Swindle (published in French as Au revoir là-haut won the Prix Goncourt, France's leading literary award.
In addition to his Brigade Criminelle novels starring Commandant Camille Verhoeven, Lemaitre writes standalone thrillers including Blood Wedding.
Frank Wynne is an award-winning writer and translator. His previous translations include works by Virginie Despentes, Javier Cercas and Michel Houllebecq. He chaired the jury of the 2022 Booker International. Most recently his translation of The Art of Losing won the 2022 Dublin Literary Award.
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
