The breaking of eggs

'A magnificent debut novel . . . haunting, quietly brilliant' Boston Globe'Warm and very witty' Stylist'Full of humour and ideas' Sydney Morning Herald'A fresh, moving, remarkable story.

Unforgettable' Publishers WeeklyIn a shabby apartment in the 19th arrondissment in Paris, Feliks's indomitable landlady - Madame Lefèvre - invites him to call her Sandrine.

Her manners have been as unvarying as her dresses for the last thirty-six years, but as the face of Europe transforms beyond recognition, so Feliks's own life teeters on the edge of change. Feliks does not embrace change - in fact, it makes him most uncomfortable.

But as he's reunited with a brother that he hasn't seen since his childhood and comes face-to-face with the love he let slip through his fingers, Feliks has to face up to the possibility that the convictions he has based his life upon were nothing but smoke and mirrors. Soon his carefully constructed world is tumbling round his ears and Feliks wonders: is there such a thing as a second chance for someone like him?