"I write so that people and the bonds between them stop stretching and and breaking."

The sound of a telephone ringing, the smell of bleach, the taste of instant coffee…. Tugging at the thread of memory, Philippe Manevy weaves a family chronicle spanning four generations. Every chapter spotlights a single member of a family grappling with the trials and tribukations life has in store for them. And in so doing, this novel travels through two World Wars, economic crises, the postwar boom known in France as Les Trente Glorieuses, the hopes and disillusions of the 20th century. A declaration of love and a tribute to the working class, this novel reinvigorates the genre of the family chronicle, providing feelings of comfort and gentle nostalgia.