Sophie Loubière

Madame Preau is a very unreliable witness. She has recently returned to her home in France after a stay in a convalescent home. Her only real relationship, with her son, is obviously strained. Madame is paranoid, regularly makes obviously bad decisions, and has some outright mad behavior. Madame sees a boy next door that no one else will acknowledge exists. She is certain he is bring mistreated and makes it her mission to get help. Her history makes it difficult for people around her to believe her and she takes matters into her own dangerous hands. This book was a little bit wacky, mainly because of the main character. It was disturbing to me that she had been released into society as she clearly was not a well woman. Not a favorite of mine, but certainly worth a read.… (mehr)

I finished The Stone Boy for the LibraryThing Early Reviewers' program. This batch highlighted Hatchett authors who are affected by the Amazon/Hatchett battle. So, I'm reviewing this book to support the authors of Hatchett.

The Stone Boy is a bestselling French book newly translated into English. The protagonist of the psychological thriller is Madame Preau. Madame Preau returns to her house after a stint in a convalescent home and discovers a little boy in the neighbor's backyard, all alone and neglected. He only comes out on Sunday afternoons. She goes on a mission to save the boy. The trouble is...is the boy real or a hallucination? Madame Preau suffers from mental illness, and she has stopped taking her medicine.

I think the American audience will be sympathetic to the issues of mental illness and child abuse and will therefore feel a kinship to the quirky Madame Preau. However, there is a "positive" spin on euthanasia that many will not be able to swallow. Warning: Adult content.… (mehr)

I received a review copy of this book.

The elderly Madame Preau is definitely a bit off her rocker, which causes her concerns about a neighbor child to be indulged and then ignored. No one can even verify the existence of the child. But Madame persists, keeping a journal record and attempting a photograph. However, her connection with reality seems to grow more and more tenuous, and she does have a history which throws her credibility further into doubt. It is clear how exasperating she must be for her son Martin, but I, as reader, grew increasingly fond of her. She is troubled by paranoia and she hears strange noises, but is caring and committed and persistent in her belief that she can save the child and no one believes in. A good read held together by a fine character.… (mehr)