The legend - Marie Bronsard

In this strikingly original memoir, Marie Bronsard reweaves the history
of her family-and the legend of her grandmother-leaving no stone
unturned and no skeleton in the closet.

Egocentric and
domineering, Bronsard's grandmother was once a vibrant and sensual
beauty. In Indochina at the end of the Second World War, she thrived in
the social life of the French colony, but her young soldier husband
sought a quieter existence, finding solace in the companionship of their
adolescent daughter, Bronsard's mother. The consequences of this choice
reverberate throughout the family. But far from being an airing of
grievance or dirty laundry, Bronsard's memoir has the air of
catharsis-here, the pain, secrets, and comic moments of Bronsard's
family are remembered with gentle humor, understanding, and affection. A
wry irony tempers emotion, and it is in these pages that the author at
last finds it possible to name the woman of the legend and perhaps bring
her grandmother a measure of peace.