Tracy W Female. Hong Kong

I was first attracted to this book by the title "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere" which succinctly captures the yearnings of many lonely hearts in this town. I had been looking for this book by French writer, Anna Gavalda, for a long time but it is not sold in Hong Kong. I first read her latest novel, "Hunting and Gathering", an European bestseller which had been made into a movie "Ensemble, c'est tout", and hated it.

I finally found this collection of short stories in New York, read it and love it. Gavalda writes much better short stories than long novels.

Each of the 12 stories is a jewel. They are all very succinct accounts of the daily lives of ordinary people in France, but are charged with passion and emotions, dealing with big morality and humanity issues, e.g. still-born child, rape, involuntary manslaughter, a dying loved one etc. The author has a knack for looking deep into the hearts of people and revealing their true feelings in the face of trials and tribulations. "I wish someone were waiting for me somewhere .... Is that so much to ask?" is a line spoken by the protagonist in the story "Leave", which is about a soldier on leave who returned home and said so to himself when he got off the train.

Read this gem of a book. The stories "Lead Story", "Catgut" and "For Years" will surely blow you away.

I am so disappointed by this book.

I have always wanted to read Anna Gavalda's novels as she is a renowned and highly regarded romantic novelist in France. This Hunting and Gathering was a bestseller in Europe and has been translated into over 20 languages. The Taiwanese especially love it. It has even been made into a movie starring Audrey Tautou.

Yet the novel is really boring. It's about four lonely hearts who somehow lived together in a mansion in Paris, and there isn't much of a plot to speak of. In the beginning, it seemed that each of the characters had a secret to tell, but it turned out that it's no big deal. In fact, none of the characters is memorable.

I think the author has dragged the story on for too long and it's really difficult to plough through the 488-page novel. Thumbs-down.