Trespass

From Publishers Weekly Two pairs of siblings and their twisted pasts converge in this gripping, dark novel from Orange Prize–winner Tremain (The Road Home). In the southern French C?vennes region, Audrun lives a peaceful if bitter life in a small bungalow a stone's throw from her family home. She's been cast out, either by inheritance or some terrible transgression; her drunken, spiteful brother, Aramon, who still resides there, hopes to sell the home to foreign tourists, an act that would further uproot Audrun. Meanwhile, Anthony Verey, a once-renowned London antiques dealer, having reached an existential precipice, descends on his sister, Veronica, who lives near the C?vennes with her lover, Kitty. As Anthony and Kitty quietly battle for Veronica's affections, Audrun and Aramon struggle with their history and land. Anthony wants a home in the region, hoping it will fill his void, and he joins the wave of foreigners hungrily circling the area. Soon, a series of rash decisions impacts all of their lives in brutal, unforgettable ways. Tremain renders this untamed area with haunting prose, but the affecting sense of dread she builds makes her tale at times unrelentingly grim. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From The word trespass takes on multiple meanings in Tremain’s emotionally searing novel. The lives of two pairs of aging siblings converge and overlap in a lushly neglected valley in the C?vennes region of southern France. With his once-successful career as a London antiques dealer on an increasingly downward spiral, Anthony Verey decides to visit his sister Veronica, now cozily ensconced in the valley with her lover, Kitty. Disillusioned by the negative trajectory of his life and charmed by the feral beauty of the area, he decides to purchase a home nearby, causing friction between Veronica and Kitty. What appears to be the perfect property, the Mas Lunel estate, is haunted by the brutally abusive past of sibling-owners Aramon and Audrun. As these characters trespass on one another physically, emotionally, and psychologically, Tremain ratchets up the suspense, setting the stage for an appropriately dark and bitter denouement. --Margaret Flanagan Set among the hills and gorges of southern France, Trespass is a thrilling novel about disputed territory, sibling love and devastating revenge, by the bestselling author of The Road Home, winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.In a silent valley stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Its owner is Aramon Lunel, an alcoholic so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister, Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life.Into this closed Cévenol world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London. Now in his sixties, Anthony hopes to remake his life in France, and he begins looking at properties in the region. From the moment he arrives at the Mas Lunel, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion.Two worlds and two cultures collide. Ancient boundaries are crossed, taboos are broken, a violent crime is committed. And all the time the Cévennes hills remain, as cruel and seductive as ever, unforgettably captured in this powerful and unsettling novel, which reveals yet another dimension to Rose Tremain's extraordinary imagination. In a silent valley in southern France stands an isolated stone farmhouse, the Mas Lunel. Aramon, the owner, is so haunted by his violent past that he's become incapable of all meaningful action, letting his hunting dogs starve and his land go to ruin. Meanwhile, his sister Audrun, alone in her modern bungalow within sight of the Mas Lunel, dreams of exacting retribution for the unspoken betrayals that have blighted her life. Into this closed world comes Anthony Verey, a wealthy but disillusioned antiques dealer from London who has escaped to stay with his sister. When he sets his sights on the Mas, a frightening and unstoppable series of consequences is set in motion A London antique dealer sets his sights on an ancient stone farmhouse in southern France owned by a man haunted by his violent past and his revenge-seeking sister.