His Brother
2001
First Published
3.86
Average Rating
158
Number of Pages
Lucas’s brother Thomas is dying. At their childhood holiday home, the two brothers wait for Thomas to die. Besson’s dispassionate observation of disease and death is haunting, as he portrays the inability of others to cope with Thomas’ illness and the petty cruelties of the medical system. Interwoven with the chronicle of Thomas’ death are the brothers’ memories of their childhood and adolescence, their jealousies and rivalries, their unspoken bond. As those around them withdraw from this inexplicable, inexorable death, Lucas and Thomas retreat to their childhood paradise to wait for the end.
Avg Rating
3.86
Number of Ratings
377
5 STARS
24%
4 STARS
43%
3 STARS
27%
2 STARS
5%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Philippe Besson
Author · 28 books
In 1999, Besson, who was a jurist at that time, was inspired to write his first novel, In the Absence of Men, while reading some accounts of ex-servicemen of the First World War. The novel won the Emmanuel-Roblès prize. L'Arrière-saison, published in 2002, won the Grand Prix RTL-Lire 2003. Un garçon d'Italie was nominated for the Goncourt and the Médicis prizes. Seeing that his works aroused so much interest, Philippe Besson then decided to dedicate himself exclusively to his writing.
