The Legend

Now in paperback, Marie Bronsard's strikingly original memoir reweaves the history of her familyand the legend of her grandmotherleaving no stone unturned and no skeleton in the closet. Egocentric and domineering, Bronsards grandmother was once a vibrant and sensual beauty. In Indochina at the end of the Second World War, she thrived in the social life of the French colony, but her young soldier husband sought a quieter existence, finding solace in the companionship of their adolescent daughter, Bronsards mother. The consequences of this choice reverberate throughout the family. But far from being an airing of grievance or dirty laundry, Bronsards memoir has the air of catharsishere, the pain, secrets, and comic moments of Bronsards family are remembered with gentle humor, understanding, and affection. A wry irony tempers emotion, and it is in these pages that the author, at last, finds it possible to name the woman of the legend and perhaps bring her grandmother a measure of peace.