El Ancho Mundo / The Wide World: A Novel

Centrada en el per odo inmediatamente posterior a la segunda guerra mundial, que dio paso a los llamados «treinta a os gloriosos , El ancho mundo --aclamada por el p blico y la cr tica en Francia--cuenta las aventuras y desventuras de la familia Pelletier, propietaria de una pr spera f brica de jabones en Beirut, ciudad bajo influencia francesa, con la guerra de Indochina y el Par s de la posguerra y la reconstrucci n como tel n de fondo.

Para gran disgusto del matrimonio Pelletier, sus cuatro hijos buscan ampliar horizontes lejos del hogar familiar. Jean, el ab lico primog nito, incapaz de tomar las riendas del negocio y dominado por su insufrible esposa, acaba vendiendo telas en Par s; el brillante Fran ois huye a la capital francesa con la intenci n de labrarse un nombre en el periodismo, aunque de momento debe conformarse con una plaza de reportero en la secci n de sucesos; el carism tico tienne parte a Saig n en compa a de su gato Joseph para reunirse con Raymond, su amado legionario belga, pero acaba en las garras de una organizaci n internacional de tr fico de capitales; mientras la peque a H l ne, atrapada en una relaci n enfermiza con un depravado profesor de matem ticas, medita c mo escapar de sus padres.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Listed on Babelia's Best Books of 2023

The sweeping saga of one prominent French family against the backdrop of post-war Paris, Beirut, and Saigon--an electrifying novel of passion, greed, murder, and revenge.

The Pelletiers are a prominent French family living in Beirut. The patriarch, Louis, has built a successful business that he hopes to pass on to his eldest son. With no head for management, Jean nearly runs the company into the ground, then marries a materialistic young woman who insists they emigrate to Paris and join high society. But there's another reason Jean must leave--he has committed a terrible crime...

Youngest son Etienne is sent to make his fortune in Saigon. Soon, he begins investigating a covert scheme to channel smuggled goods and cash to the Viet Minh. But the evidence he amasses presents a real threat to his own life.

Fran ois, the middle brother, arrives in Paris and tries his hand at journalism. His career begins to take off when he starts covering the brutal murder of an actress that seems part of a pattern of killings. But the killer he's chasing is closer to him than he realizes.

Epic in scope, and a vivid depiction of French life in the booming postwar years, The Great World is a riveting saga at once gripping and classic.