A SECRET KEPT revolves around a secret in the Rey family
that comes to light after a brother and sister visit an
island associated with happy family vacations. On her
fortieth birthday, Antoine Rey takes his sister, Melanie,
to Noirmoutier Island, which Antoine believes will trigger
many much-needed happy memories for his little sister.
Unhappily single, without children, and recently abandoned
by her boy friend, Antoine hopes surrounding Melanie by
warm family memories will brighten her birthday. But her
trip to Noirmoutier Island awakens a terrible secret
Melanie has repressed for years. As they return home from
their trip, Melanie attempts to tell Antoine about her
childhood memory but loses control of the car.
Antoine and Melanie lost their mother at a young age
shortly after a family trip to Noirmoutier Island. But
Antoine and Melanie have never been able to fathom why
Clarissa Rey's death changed their lives so drastically.
Shortly after her death, her devoted husband remarried as
if she had never existed, all photos of Clarissa were
hidden, and Clarissa's name was never mentioned again.
After attempting to question family members about their
mother's death, Antoine and Melanie begin to realize that
the Rey family wants to erase the memory of Clarissa from
their lives.
Melanie's sudden recollection of her childhood memory at
Noirmoutier Island will have far reaching consequences into
her and her brother's lives. Melanie's secret will not only
change how they view their parents and their marriage, but
also how they view themselves and the mistakes they have
made to self-sabotage their own lives. Antoine Rey was once
a successful architect with a bright future, but when the
love of his life, Astrid, left him for another man, Antoine
fell victim to a spell of self destruction and self pity.
Melanie has never been married and is content with the
occasional one night stand, but the Rey family secret will
bring the ghosts of the past into the lives of the children
who were never allowed to learn the truth about their
mother.
A SECRET KEPT is a profoundly emotional novel about family
relationships. The main focus of the novel is the secret
that Melanie remembers, but Tatiana De Rosnay plunges deep
into the psyche of her characters. This is not a novel
about a dark secret hidden by the hands of time, instead,
Tatiana De Rosnay writes her characters around the secret
the Rey family hid for years. The author's way of allowing
brief glimpses of the past makes the minor characters in
the novel as fascinating as the protagonists. Clarissa Rey
comes to life as vividly as her children as her tragic
story slowly begins to unfold. A SECRET KEPT is an
engrossing novel that delivers in every page.
Antoine Rey thought he had the perfect surprise for his
sister Mélanie’s birthday: a weekend by the sea at
Noirmoutier Island, where the pair spent many happy
childhood summers playing on the beach. It had been too
long, Antoine thought, since they’d returned to the
island—over thirty years, since their mother died and the
family holidays ceased. But the island’s haunting beauty
triggers more than happy memories; it reminds Mélanie of
something unexpected and deeply disturbing about their last
island summer.
When, on the drive home to Paris, she
finally summons the courage to reveal what she knows to
Antoine, her emotions overcome her and she loses control of
the car.
Trapped in the wake of a family secret shrouded by
taboo, Antoine must confront his past and also his troubled
relationships with his own children. How well does he
really know his mother, his children, even himself?
Suddenly fragile on all fronts – as a son, a husband, a
brother and a father – Antoine Rey will soon learn the
shocking truth about his family and himself.
By turns
thrilling and seductive, with a lingering effect that is
bittersweet and redeeming, A Secret Kept is the story of a
modern family and the invisible ties that hold it together.
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