On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Albertine Book club will discuss the novel The Old Fire by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated from the French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins and published by Summit Books.

Agathe leaves New York and returns to her home in the French countryside, after fifteen years away.

She and her sister Véra have not seen each other in all those years, and they carry the weight of their own complicated lives. But now their father has died, and they must confront their childhood home on the outskirts of a country estate ravaged by a nearby fire before it is knocked down. They have nine days to empty it. As the pair clean and sift through a lifetime’s worth of belongings, old memories, and resentments surface.

Tender and tense, haunting and evocative, The Old Fire is Elisa Shua Dusapin’s most personal and moving novel yet. An exploration of time and memory, of family and belonging, it is also a graceful and profound look at the unsaid and the unanswered, the secrets that remain, and whether you can ever really go home again.

Albertine members will receive an invitation by email.

Moderated by the Albertine staff, the Albertine book club is open to Albertine members only. Members are free to speak in English or in French, but a strong command of the French language is recommended to attend. For more information on how to become an Albertine member click here.