Set against the backdrop of war, this is an unforgettable story of courage, resilience, and love by internationally bestselling author Marc Levy. 2023, Eastern Ukraine. Veronika, a nurse, comes home to discover that her nine-year-old son, Valentyn, has disappeared. She is distraught—as is her daughter, Lilya—they have no idea where Valentyn has been taken or why. They each embark on a quest to find him—Lilya with the bold recklessness of an adolescent, Veronika with the fearless determination of a mother. But the enemy have eyes and ears everywhere and no one can be trusted. Almost no one. Hundreds of miles away, behind the scenes, a brilliant and stubborn outlaw is working to help them find Valentyn. Together they will have to confront this Symphony of Monsters, a real-life project that is more terrifying than fiction. By turns moving and gripping, from the very first page to the last, the reader is rooting for these everyday heroes caught in a plot that is bigger and more sinister than any of them can imagine. This novel is inspired by true events. The conservative estimate of the number of Ukrainian children kidnapped since Putin’s large scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 is currently 20,000. The author was inspired to write about these events to raise awareness while something can still be “I never knew my paternal grandparents because they died at Auschwitz. Growing up, when I asked my teachers why nothing had been done to stop the camps, invariably the answer was we didn’t know. When I learned about the large scale, systematic deportation of Ukrainian children I decided to write a novel about it. That way, those who will read it will not be able to say we didn’t know.”
Author
Marc Levy was born in France. When he turned eighteen, he joined the Red Cross, where he spent the next six years. In 1983, he created a computer graphics company based in France and the United States. Six years later, he co-founded an interior design and planning company with two friends; the company soon became one of the leading architecture firms in France. At thirty-seven, Marc Levy wrote a story for the man that his son would grow up to be. In early 1999, his sister, a screenwriter (now a film director), encouraged him to send the manuscript to a French publisher, who immediately decided to publish If Only It Were True. Before it was published, Steven Spielberg (Dreamworks) acquired film rights to the novel. The movie, Just like Heaven, starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo, was a #1 box office hit in America in 2005. After If Only It Were True, Marc Levy began writing full-time. Since then, he has written 18 novels. His work has been translated into 49 languages and has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. In addition, Marc Levy has directed a short movie, written short stories and song lyrics for various artists, including Johnny Hallyday. Le Figaro newspaper recently commissioned a nationwide poll asking the French to rank their favorite author: Marc Levy and Victor Hugo were #1. Marc Levy currently lives in New York City. Readers can learn more about him and follow his work on www.marclevy.info
