Awarded the Prix des libraires by Franceâs booksellers, a universal story about music and restoring oneâs faith in others amid the aftermath of tremendous loss.
Tokyo, 1938. An amateur quartet, led by the compassionate Yu, gathers to practice. Suddenly, their rehearsal is brutally interrupted by military police. In the ensuing skirmish, Yuâs violin is smashed while his son, Rei, witnesses his fatherâs arrest. He will never see him again. Salvaging his fatherâs instrument, Rei escapes thanks to a mysterious lieutenant.
Paris, 2003. Raised in France, Reiânow Jacquesâhas dedicated his life to the broken violinâs repair: studying music, becoming an apprentice, and, eventually, a luthier. However, despite his effort to rehabilitate the damage of years ago, he struggles to reconcile his past with the present.
Yet, when a world-class violinist, connected to the lieutenant that helped him as a boy, appears, Jacquesâ past is rekindled and he perseveres in a final bid to heal. Fractured Soul is a parable of what once was lost and what there stands to be gainedâa story of immense beauty and ferocious courage.
Translated from the French by Alison Anderson