The Cracks in Our Armor

Description

In this collection of short stories, all written in the first person, Anna Gavalda paints the lives of seven 'real people.' An ode to those who confront their vulnerabilities and admit their weaknesses, these pieces illustrate the importance of love, friendship and family despite the wounds of the past. From the trucker who puts his dog to sleep following the death of his son to the alcoholic widow who befriends a stranger raised in a strict military family, readers will find the typical Gavaldian universe on full display in these stories of suffering and salvation.

Born in Paris in 1970, Anna Gavalda published her first work in 1999 while working as a high school French teacher. Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part, a collection of short stories, was met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France. The book was translated into numerous languages and sold in twenty-seven countries. Gavalda has since published three novels, all of which have become bestsellers across Europe. Her first novel, Someone I Loved, was made into a movie in 2000 and the 2007 film adaptation of her novel Hunting and Gathering starred Audrey Tatou. Her most recent work, The Cracks in Our Armor, was shortlisted in the Belles-Lettres Category for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) in 2017. In addition to writing novels, Gavalda contributes to Elle Magazine. Alison Anderson's translations for Europa Editions include novels by Selim Nassib, Amelie Nothomb, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. She is the translator of The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Europa, 2008) and The Life of Elves (Europa, 2016) by Muriel Barbery.

Praise for The Cracks in Our Armor "With themes of loss, family, individuality, and the power of connection echoed across stories, this collection is a raw and tender ode to the human spirit."--Publishers Weekly "The novelist returns to the genre that made her famous--the short story--with grace." --Le Figaro "Anna Gavalda views her lonely characters with nothing but sincerity, delicacy, tenderness, and generosity [...] We've often wished for stories this good." --Version Femina "A [...] delicate collection, in which the author proves herself once again to be a fine observer, a writer of a fragile and endearing humanism." --Le Parisien Magazine "[Gavalda] has constructed a work that is remarkably intimate and alive. She possesses an incredible talent for modulating joys and sorrows [...] And she so refines her sentences that you never sense her work, her effort--you just applaud the swing." --Lire "The voices heard in these seven stories, each entirely distinct from the others, are of the sort that permanently embed themselves in the memory." --Le Soir Praise for Anna Gavalda "Both stories have a sentimental streak, but Ms. Gavalda, a best-selling author in her native France, puts them across with charm." --The New York Times "Gavalda's writing is engaging and lyrical."--World Literature Today "With writing this beautiful and charming, and heartbreakingly sincere, Gavalda makes the journey well worth the effort." --The Cedar Rapids Gazette "[Like Anne Tyler and Nick Hornby] Anna Gavalda has the ability to create intelligent dramas with a witty sideline in banter-driven dialogue...Her stock in trade is the endearing oddball. Her characters' peccadilloes drive the narrative engine as much as plot delivery. Conversation turns towards the manic passions of obsessives." --The Independent (UK) "The qualities that make Anna Gavalda unique include precision, tenderness for her characters, a sense of detail, an intoxicating mix of nostalgia, and a capacity for joy." --Le Figaro "Gavalda's sparkling impertinence and her childlike joie de vivre are irresistible." --Marie Claire (France) "A sensitive, delicate, funny, immensely readable story...Billie is a revelation!" --Olivia de Lamberterie, France 2