Schmitt is very capable of some kind of miracle. In those four tales, slightly connected by St. Rita, he doesn't reach his best, but they are still very worth reading. The first is too predictable and nothing really new, the second is very good and makes you think, the third is too sad, the fourth is the perfect closure of the book. I appreciated very much the notes of the author at the end of the book. Delightful insights.

I have somehow decided that books having won the Goncourt Prix worth being read more than Nobel Prize winner. I feel like Nobel prize is given for reasons other than literature itself (e.g. political, based on popularity, given to influencers etc.).This is a collection of short novels centering around the same motif. Some may find this as "Christian literature" but I tend to disagree since it does not preach any dogma.I was impressed by the sensibility displayed and by the moral drawn from the t...

Besides the stories themselves (hard to pick a "best one", all had something great in them), I also enjoyed very much the excerpts from the author's diary - I always like to get a glimpse in the author's mind, to be revealed his intentions and thoughts about his/her work.

The first time I read Schmitt but it won't be the last, really loved these short stories that are mysteriously connected to Saint Rita, Saint of desperate causes, l'empoisonneuse is definitely my favourite..light and delicious book but not short of depth xx

A wonderful compilation of short stories with the common theme of love and death. If you are able to read in French, I highly recommend reading it in its original language.

Another beautiful book of short stories by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. I seriously cannot recommend his works enough. This is only the second collection that I've read but I've since bought everything he wrote translated in English that I could... I've never been one for short stories (something about the brevity of them made me feel like they were always unfinished) but I LOVE his stories. They are so magical yet written so beautifully. Simplistic, yet full of detail. The Europa edition includes pag...

the book was making me feel like i'm listening to a new age music. best one is Return indeed. I enjoyed it a lot. recommended from me!

WONDERFUL!!I had a lot to learn from these stories!I recommend it to all!

First and last story were good, the rest too philosophical to me.

Concerto à la memoire d'un ange = Concerto to the Memory of an Angel, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt The title story is the tale of two friends with very different personalities—one competitive and aggressive, the other kind and disinterested. They are confronted with circumstances that lead to a catharsis in which both men will move beyond their predetermined roles. Another story, “The Return,” introduces a father whose work takes him far from home for months at a time. Over the years, the names, faces

The last of my Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt short story collections and I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. This is a great story teller and I definitely recommend him to anyone who likes short stories.

Stories by a master. In French. Unpredictable twists and turns throughout. The writing is exquisite.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."- this book is simply the proof of that statement...

More books of Eric Emmanuel Schmitt I read, more I'm getting convinced that he is the most genius writer this World ever knew.In his fascinating manner he drags you into the atmosphere of unusual emotions and unexpected outcomes.The challenge of writing a review on his books is always in that whatever you can say about it would be a spoiler.Just open this book and enjoy.

Excellent! This author is a wonderful surprise. This is the second of his books I read, and I find his style, the seriousness of his work, his subtle humor and the strength and depth of his characters really tantalizing...The fact that he writes these books that are sets of novels is also insteresting. More often, you ahve romence or a collection of short stories... Here, It is a colletions of novels... And written according to "metric" - in this sense that a novel, according to the author, has

This is the second book by this author i have read and I have to say I could not put it down. Each of the short stories could be a book of it's own but still you can link them by a common theme - sense of rejection or isolation and a reflection on that. What is intriguing in all these stories is that we are a witness to this reflection, but the characters do not behave in a predictable way. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

I had to read this book (again) for school in our French courses. We only read the second and fourth story, so 'Le retour' and 'Un amour à l'Élysée', and I didn't mislike it. 'Le retour' was good, only the first pages were a little difficult, but once you were through them it was quite a good story. The fourth story was more difficult to read, mainly because French isn't my mother language. But I didn't mislike the fourth story either. In the end, I think it wasn't a bad book, but it isn't one o...

Recommended by Radu, he basically pushed it into my arms, so I read it. I must say, Schmitt has some problems with writing. After all this time, his style is still not polished, not good enough. His ideas, however, are beautiful, and, if not inspired, they are at least meant to strike a chord into one's heart. Besides the first story, I liked them all.

I've fallen in love with every of four stories in that book, but the one about musicians Axel and Chris has broke my heart and it hasn't came back to the previous shape since then. it tells us about twenty years from lives of both of then. they have spent with eachother only a few seconds under water; these seconds changes paths they are walking and they become not to.recognize. I swear I felt how paper is in flames under my fingers when I was reading it. Eric Emmanuel Schmitt is one of my favou...

Writing journal excerpts at the end of collection almost better than stories themselves (a little too predictible).