The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles

Katherine Pancol

A light hearted, multi plotted story, with a huge cast of extended family and friends. The main plot centres on literary fraud with some other (rather fanciful) threads. Set in Paris with a few brief interludes with the crocodiles in Kenya, it’s very much a tale of the triumph of good over evil. Translated from the French into Americanised English – this has been a big hit on the international market.

Extract
Her daughter stared at her coldly.
'Open you eyes, Mom! Look at how you dress. What you hair looks like! You've let yourself go. It's no surprise he went looking elsewhere! You need to leave the Middle Ages and come live in this century.'
Hortense was using the same amused disdain as Antoine. Josephine closed her eyes, covered her ears with her hands, and started to yell
'Hortense! I forbid you to speak to me with that tone! We've been scraping by because of me, and because of the Middle ages! Whether you like it or not.'
Parallels
  • You by Joanna Briscoe
  • The Innocents by Francesca Segal