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  • Today, "La Jurée" by Claire Jéhanno was published on April 5, 2023 by Harper Collins Publishing.

Christian Dorsan, author, blogger and contributor to the 20 Minutes Books reading group, recommends "La Jurée" by Claire Jéhanno, published on April 5, 2023 by Harper Collins Publishing.


His favorite quote:

Judge Caillebotte explained to us that we judge with what we are; that we should not worry about it, that, on the contrary, the multiplicity of our experiences made us collectively more just. I'm not with her. Our differences divide us.

Why this book?

  • Because novels with drawers are tired or fascinating: writing a story that hides another is risky if the chronologies of the two are confused. It takes a mastered pen to reconcile two eras that will meet at the end of an unforeseen or providential event (as desired) and Claire Jéhanno succeeds wonderfully in this bet.
  • Because the encounter between the past and the present takes place through a trial. Juror of a case, our young teacher will make us live a real suspense on the case judged and on his past. A real suspense emerges, until the end, the reader is caught up in the game of these two cleverly constructed stories. A flawless score for this first novel.
  • Because we love, finally, these lost characters who reveal themselves over the words. A crush for the portraits of the characters, no cliché, just small sensitive touches that make us discover as we go the intimate, shameful or hidden corners of the protagonists. A captivating and luminous book.

The essentials in 2 minutes

The plot. A young woman is drawn by lot to be a juror in a murder trial. The empathy felt towards the victim will bring back a painful event from his childhood.

The characters. Anna and her sister Maxine, Gilberte the victim, Frédéric and Lucie the defendants, the jurors of the trial And Judge Caillebotte, the parents of Anna, a cat who has disappeared and the shadow of the little cousin Aurore.

Places. Trémenc and Chartres.

The time. Current with returns in the late 1990s.

The author. Claire Jéhanno is an author and podcast producer, awarded for her Chronicles of an Ordinary Feminist in 2021, The Juror is her first novel.

This book has been read with bulimia: the style is clear, without roughness and the chronology of the story encourages to devour the pages. A beautiful encounter with this endearing character on which lurks a mystery successfully maintained until the end. A reading treat!

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