Description
Book SynopsisA winegrower ruined by the Great French Vine Blight takes his one surviving vine stock and boards a ship for California. But the new life he has in store is not the one he had imagined - taken ill aboard ship, he is forced to disembark at Valparaiso, where a misunderstanding at the customs post finds him rebaptized after his birthplace, Lons-le-Saunier: the Lonsonier family is born in Chile. Making the journey in reverse, his sons return to defend the motherland in 1914, and the ghosts of the war live on across the Atlantic, in a house with three lemon trees and a garden filled with birds, for years to come. From the depths of the trenches to the soaring peaks of the Andes and the shadow of dictatorship, the personal stories of the Lonsoniers collide with key moments in a century of global history, painting a vivid picture of what is both gained and lost through migration. This pocket-sized family saga confirms the rich imagination and storytelling talents of exciting young author Miguel Bonnefoy.
Trade ReviewShortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, the Goncourt des Lyceens, the Grand Prix de l'Academie Francaise, the Prix Femina and the Prix Femina des Lyceens 'In the space of barely 200 pages, with a remarkable sense for what to tell and what to leave unsaid ... Heritage is a novel about uprooting and second chances, the opposition between the forces of life and destruction, the elation of dreams and disenchantment.' Le Figaro 'Brilliantly combines personal stories with key moments in world History with a capital H ... Miguel Bonnefoy's novels take you on an enchanting journey through space and time' Lire 'A 33-year-old Franco-Venezuelan whose storytelling talents never cease to impress' L'Express 'A saga as gripping as it is bold' Lire 'Best of all are the passionate, tenacious female characters ... A dramatic, colourful novel about exile and inheritance' Liberation 'An extraordinary feel for detail combined with an equal deftness for ellipsis ... Magnificent' Le Monde
