Angelbirds

To ward off any future bad luck that might befall his family, Laurent says, “We certainly paid our dues that day,” referring to the car accident in which his father died. Nonetheless, life still has struggles in store for him, his married mistress Florence, her husband Pierre, and their daughter Marine. As Marine faces teenage anxiety, sexual harassment, and her first consensual sexual experiences, Florence must decide if her future is with Pierre the web designer or Laurent the French professor with a passion for astronomy. On the other hand, Pierre must learn to leave behind past hurts and be honest about his feelings, while Laurent decides if he is better off with people in his life or if the stars in the night sky are better company. Marine in particular is helped forward by Laurent’s mother, stricken with dementia and living in a nursing home, but convinced that her guardian angel is close at hand. But where are Laurent’s, Florence’s, Pierre’s and Marine’s guardian angels?

Author of over 20 titles, Régine Detambel is both a novelist and an essay writer. She holds the rank of Chevalière de l’ordre des Arts et Lettres and has been awarded the Académie française’s Anna de Noailles prize. Her most recent publication, Platine (2018), explores the theme of oppression of women through the example of Hollywood sex symbol Jean Harlow. In addition to writing, Régine Detambel also offers training in her own method of book therapy. Translator Dawn M. Cornelio is a professor of French at the University of Guelph, where she specialises in contemporary French women’s writing and literary translation. She has published a number of articles about author Chloé Delaume, along with several book-length translations. She is the founder and president of New Dawn Editions, which focuses on bringing more French and Francophone women’s writing into English. Anglebirds is the company’s second title.