There are many things to recommend Yiyun Li’s novel, The Book of Goose. For me, it started with the cover (published by 4th Estate in Australia) – what appears to be a section from an Old Masters painting, with a pop of neon. The contrast was arresting and I bought the book, knowing nothing about it or the author. Yep, raw-dogging my book-buying.

In brief, it’s the story of Agnès and her best friend, Fabienne. As children in a postwar provisional French town, they’d built a private world, invisible to everyone but themselves. Fabienne, the bolder of the two, hatches a plan to create some excitement in their lives, and the result changes everything for Agnès. 

How do I measure Fabienne’s presence in my life – by the years we were together, or by the years we have been apart, her shadow elongating as time goes by, always touching me? Continue reading →