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The Silence and the Rage

The epic and compelling second novel in 'The Glorious Years' series

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The Silence and the Rage

By: Pierre Lemaitre, Frank Wynne - translator
Narrated by: Philip Bird
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'A novelist at the height of his powers' La Croix

'You have the ingredients Balzac would have cooked with. And it is exactly those great 19th century novels that Lemaitre will remind you of' Sunday Times

It is 1952 and the Pelletier family have returned to a life in France...

Patriarch Louis Pelletier, a successful businessman with a dark past, has remained with his wife in Beirut, but his family have settled on French soil. Jean, the menacing eldest brother, hides a terrible secret and is trapped in a stifling marriage, though his life is enriched by his love for his three-year-old daughter. François, an up-and-coming reporter, is caught up in a volatile love affair; and Hélène, their younger sister, strives to make her own way as a journalist, but as a woman in a man's world, she faces extraordinary challenges as she fights to expose a vast industrial scandal.

Filled with twists and turns, dark and compelling, yet ripe with wit and surprising cliffhangers, The Silence and the Rage is the story of one remarkable family against the backdrop of France during one of its most thrilling and turbulent periods.

'Lemaitre's hard-boiled style of writing is perfectly matched by his translator, Frank Wynne' Financial Times©2025 Pierre Lemaitre Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Marriage
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Most relevant
The characters and the various plots that were brought together so well at the end , although Jean’s murder victims were not dealt with compassionately

Amusing expose of everyday French lifestyle

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I'd read so many good reviews of this book, but it failed to live up to them.
My biggest criticism would be Genvieve, wife of the oldest son. I don't think I've cone across such a 2 dimensional character in the whole of literature. She is a monster through and through, selfish, vindictive, cruel, lazy, dishonest. Not a single redeeming feature. How did she get that way? We are never told.
Lesser niggles - clichés (a rumour spreads "like wildfire*) and anachronisms ("how long have you two been an item") one chapter asks a couple.
I think it was a mistake to have a book where the female characters are so prominent narrated by a man. Some accents seemed a bit random. Was Denisov American? I don’t remember this being said. And surely even a provincial school mistress (one who uses the phrase "as will I") would be quite well- spoken rather than sounding like one of the less affluent characters from The Archers.?

disappointing

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