The List of my Desires by Grégoire Delacourt

The List of my Desires

Grégoire Delacourt

Jocelyne has a low-key, understated life - she has a husband with whom she shares a name, two distant children, a father with acute memory loss, and a shop she never wanted. Then a lottery win presents her with an opportunity for change. This quick, easy read is quiet, unassuming, introspective and poignant. Choose this for a relaxed, wistful read. But if you’re irritated by lack of action and indecision, steer clear.

Extract
Naked and beautiful in front of the mirror, I feel as if I'd only have to beat my arms in the air and I could fly away, light and graceful. As if my body might join the bodies in the art books lying about my childhood home. And then it would be as beautiful as them. Definitely.

But I never dare try.

The sound of Jo downstairs always takes me by surprise. It tears the silk of my dream. I get dressed again double quick. Shadows cover the clarity of my skin. I know about the wonderful beauty beneath my clothes, but Jo never sees it.
Parallels
  • Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan
  • Pretty Woman by Fern Michaels
  • Amelie - the film