Review: Retrouve-moi ce soir (Meet Me Tonight) by Florian Parent

BOOK SUMMARY:

Une romance science-fiction moderne.

Et si rêver était la plus belle chose qu'ils avaient à vivre ? Une histoire d'amour hors du temps qui dépasse les frontières du rêve et les barrières de leur confinement.

Lior est un jeune Californien qui consomme l’amour en swipant sur son smartphone, à la recherche du coup de foudre. Suite à la pandémie du Covid-19, il décide de partir avec ses amis au Lake Tahoe le temps du confinement.

Quelques semaines plus tard, un midi, Lior leur raconte un rêve très étrange qu’il a fait. Étrange dans le sens beaucoup trop réaliste. Dans son rêve, il rencontre Julian, un homme brun et très séduisant. Une rencontre digne d’un film. Le genre de rencontre dont il fantasme depuis toujours, et bien plus excitante qu’un match sur une application dans la vraie vie. Mais, malgré son excitation, son réveil mit fin à son rêve et à sa romance avec Julian.

Ce qu’il ne sait pas encore, c’est que ce rêve n’est que le début d’une longue histoire.

Release date: March 2021

REVIEW: 

When I first came across Retrouve-moi ce soir, I was quite intrigued by the whole idea of a French novel set in San Francisco during the COVID-19 global lockdown of 2020. Author Florian Parent was kind to offer me a copy of his book, which I read in French but to make the review accessible to the majority of you, it’s going to be in English.

The pandemic and the lockdown which followed have been quite a rollercoaster for almost all of us, which is what made this book a relatable and heartwarming one. There was a sense of reassurance in knowing that although we all live in different parts of the world, emotionally, we’re all more or less the same and we go through similar experiences which connect us in a way even technology can’t.

Divided into three parts, the first two parts of Retrouve-moi ce soir are dedicated to a third person narration from the points of view of our protagonists Lior and Dorian, who dream of meeting their soulmate in a manner that seems real and super adorable. In the last part of the book, and this is where the science fiction aspect which I was apprehensive about, comes into the picture in the simplest, most brilliant manner. From confusion regarding lockdown announcements to work from home scenes to trying to make the most of the quarantine period to online sessions to experimenting with cooking and yoga, there was so much in this book that brought back memories of 2020- the nice ones, mind you. 

Florian Parent, with his true to life characters, endearing storytelling and impressive writing, has managed to create a lovely space for this book not only on the shelves of readers but in their hearts as well. An adorable, heartwarming and simply great read, Retrouve-moi ce soir is written in a simple, straightforward manner that left me with a smile on my face and a peaceful warmth in my heart.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by Florian Parent in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.