An Astronomer in Love set in Paris – Antoine Laurain
This is quite literally a book out of this world. It’s inspired by the real life character of Guillaume le Gentil who was the French King’s royal astronomer seeking to document the transit of Venus across the sun. Xavier Lemercier works in property, is divorced and so is searching for meaning in his life. Centuries apart, these two men might seem worlds apart but their lives are about to become intrinisically intertwined…
BookTrail Travel to An Astronomer in Love
Boarding Pass Information: Paris and India
Author guide: Antoine Laurain
Genre: explorer fiction
Food and drink to accompany: cheese and wine
@thebooktrailer
#Bookreview
BookTrail Travel to An Astronomer in Love
This ticked all the bookish emotions from the start. Imagine the scene – you go to a bric n brac market, and you stumble upon a very old telescope. It captures your imagination and so you end up researching famous astronomers…
One of those astronomers is the very real Guillaume le Gentil who worked in the French court and whose ultimate goal in life was to document the transit of Venus across the sky.
That is quite the premise don’t you agree? Set in Paris, we take a journey on a boat all the way to India. The two timelines work very well and I felt catapulted from one world to another. It’s very authentic and real so I honestly felt as if I was on that ship one minute, dying to get to India, and the next, on a cobbled street in Paris, trying to examine a telescope. The author waves threads between the chapters, character emotions and settings so you feel you’re being guided along on the adventure.
It was fascinating to meet Guillaume who actually existed in real life. I get the shivers when I read about real people as I honestly feel as if I am going back in time and seeing them for real. Ifelt his excitment of waiting to see Venus, and the boredom he felt on the ship. It must have been such an honour for him to be on that boat, on that mission. I felt all his emotions and more.
BookTrail Travel to An Astronomer in Love
It’s a very poetic read and one which looks at friendship, connection and determination and the journeys we take in life. The search for Venus is at the novel’s heart but this is a metaphor for both men’s search for something, someone of note.
BookTrail Travel to An Astronomer in Love
Postcard details: Access The BookTrail’s Map of Locations and travel guide here
BookTrail Boarding Pass: An Astronomer in Love
Translated by Louise Rogers Lalaurie and Megan Jones
