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Title:	Mend the Living
Authors:	De Kerangal, Maylis
Genre:	Fiction
Pages:	230
Year:	2014
Publisher:	Quercus
Language:	English
Description:	It may be the middle of the winter but Simon Limbeau and his friends relish their crazy early morning surfing session at Le Havre. But it is to be Simon's last - on their way home, there is an accident and Simon ceases to be the vibrant young man he was and will become a source of life to many others. In the 24 hours that follow, a complex operation swings into gear: from organ harvesting to donation, each careful detail, each heart-felt emotion, family and friends to nurses and doctors, and finally to Claire Mejan who will receive Simon's heart. This is an unforgettable story of transformation that honours the players of life and death in this French drama, deftly capturing in its eloquent language the miracle they are involved in.
Categories:	Fiction, Grief/loss, Medical/Health, Morals/Ethics, Relationships, Tragedy/disaster, Translation, France, 2019 Titles

Reviews

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By: LOWER 006		2024-09-23 14:48:58

This is very much an 'average' score - we ranged from a 2 up to a 4.5. Great talking points and comments. Certainly one that we all mentioned thinking about when we'd finished reading.

By: NELS 028		2023-07-13 13:21:33

Interesting topic - all of the group engaged in discussion. Some felt the language was too full of metaphors and similes - others loved the language and style of writing.

By: NEWP 009		2023-03-23 12:49:25

Most found the book too wordy.

By: TAUR 005		2021-09-29 13:16:14

An empathetic novel with both interesting and complex characters, which was much enjoyed by our group. Translation was described as florid and verbose by several members.

By: STEW 001		2021-06-11 10:06:55

Very good translation - use of words creative; conveyed emotional context well. Great topic for discussion.

By: NEWP 012		2020-11-04 14:15:07

Some interesting discussion on organ donation, but most struggled to get into it. "Too wordy".

By: CHCH 267		2020-08-26 13:38:03

The subject promoted a lot of discussion. Two people enjoyed the writing style with clever use of words. Several appreciated the challenge of the translation. More found it too wordy. We all thought it ended suddenly and too soon without enough coverage of the recipient's life after recovery.

By: INVER 002		2020-05-11 14:11:45

We had an email question and answer follow-up on the book. Some of us struggled with the lack of punctuation. Great story; how would any of us react Translation was amazing - she had LIVED that book.

By: AUCK 307		2020-03-20 14:11:57

All but one member were highly complimentary about this book, particularly the vocabulary, language and empathy. The descriptions of all main participants and their expressed views were superb. For those with little knowledge of this area, the information was very helpful.

By: AUCK 277		2019-11-27 14:38:43

Group found the topic difficult but the writing was excellent. Nothing was lost in the translation.

By: CHCH 361		2019-11-04 14:10:08

Wonderful story. At times a little 'overly descriptive' and hard going but well worth persisting.

By: WHITIAN 003		2019-10-11 12:37:01

An amazing book! Not easy to read as very verbose, but brought forth a very vigorous discussion regarding organ donation. Families and friends should talk about what they want to do in the event of their death - would they want to donate organs Not easy to deal with it when the family is grieving, much better to know what they would want to do before they die. Talk to your family!!