Description
Named a Best Book of 2022 by The Guardian
This is a book about yoga. Or at least, it was.
Emmanuel Carrère is a renowned writer. After decades of emotional upheaval, he has begun to live successfullyhe is healthy; he works; he loves. He practices meditation, striving to observe the world without evaluating it. In this state of heightened awareness, he sets out for a ten-day silent retreat in the French heartland, leaving his phone, his books, and his daily life behind. But he's also gathering material for his next book, which he thinks will be a pleasant, useful introduction to yoga.
Four days later, there's a tap on the window: something has happened. Forced to leave the retreat early, he returns to a Paris in crisis. Life is derailed. His city is in turmoil. His work-in-progress falters. His marriage begins to unravel, as does his entanglement with another woman. He wavers between oppositesbetween self-destruction and self-control; sanity