La pierre d'Orso | Xavier Champenois

EAN : 9782385770051

Shaping : BROCHE

Pages : 352

Size : 140 x 225 mm

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Orso's Stone

Xavier Champenois

Release date : 21/09/2023

Across 17th-century Italy, an orphan sets out on the quest of a lifetime: to honor the memory of his murdered mother. A shadowy and spellbinding novel.

Lent, 1608. On the outskirts of the Duchy of Milan, in a snowstorm, 8 year-old Orso witnesses his mother’s torture and death. As her body bobs up and down at the end of a rope, the new orphan hears snatches of an argument between a hideous monk and a mysterious... Lent, 1608. On the outskirts of the Duchy of Milan, in a snowstorm, 8 year-old Orso witnesses his mother’s torture and death. As her body bobs up and down at the end of a rope, the new orphan hears snatches of an argument between a hideous monk and a mysterious horseman. Traumatized by the scene, Orso loses consciousness. He wakes up in a convent, far from the scene of the tragedy. He knows that a single aspiration will guide his life: to find the remains of his mother, his “Mammina,” and give her a proper burial. Orso’s quest will take him from the safety of the convent to various Italian states ravaged by the wars and epidemics of the 17th century. Despite his wild temperament, Orso has developed exceptional talents for mathematics, drawing, and engraving, enabling him to work with the various masters, craftsmen, engravers, and printers he meets on his travels through Brescia, Padua, Venice, and Rome. All the while, he never gives up on his mission to elucidate the circumstances of his mother’s death and to place a headstone on her grave.

“The meticulous writing, style and rich history make this first novel a real success.” Page/ Librairie un monde à soi (Bookseller)
“Orso witnesses the martyrdom of his mother, accused of witchcraft. Orphaned, he is taken in by monks. Despite the torments of war, famine, plague and unhappy encounters, Orso remains driven by an obsessive quest: to find his mother's body and give her the burial she deserves. The reader accompanies him from convents to ghettos, taking part in a captivating adventure of initiation, carried along by dense, poetic and instructive writing. A long wandering punctuated by pitfalls, braved with determination to denounce injustice and persecution.” Libraire Port Maria (Bookseller)

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Voir la fiche produit

EAN : 9782385770051

Shaping : BROCHE

Pages : 352

Size : 140 x 225 mm

See the product page