Let Us Be True

Paris, 1958.

Ralf is alone, filling his days with glasses of red wine at Jacques' bar, waiting for life to happen to him. Then, one night, Elsa - bold, enigmatic, unpredictable - whirls into Jacques' bar and into Ralf's world, knocking him out of his cautious routine and into a life full of spontaneity and excitement.

But Elsa is hiding something. As Ralf falls deeper in love, he reveals more of his past - his childhood in Nazi Germany, his time in a British tank division at the end of the Second World War. But what is Elsa hiding? And can their love survive it?

Let Us Be True charts the lives of these two extraordinary characters through an era of great uncertainty, from the war and its aftermath through to the deadly unrest of 1960s Paris.

Evocative, charismatic and sweeping in scope, Alex Christofi's second novel is a moving story of love and loss, of the things we hide from ourselves and from others, and of the personal cost of Europe's turbulent twentieth century.

A blazing novel about identity, love, kindness, loss and survival in an uncertain world. Let Us Be True will stay with me for a long time -- Rachel Joyce
Praise for Glass:'Charming and funny ... there's enough here to show you the author has plenty more to offer and that, like his hero, he definitely has his heart in the right place. Daily Mail
Christofi's writing really does gleam with wit, inventiveness and an offbeat charm -- Kate Saunders The Times
[An] impressive, tightly paced coming-of-age story ... a multi-layered story that follows one man's refracted path through life's prism Financial Times

Alex Christofi was born in Dorset and read English at Oxford University. As well as working as an editor, he writes occasional essays and reviews. His first novel Glass, also published by Serpent's Tail, was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Betty Trask Prize.

Paris, 1958. Ralf is alone, filling his days with glasses of red wine at Jacques' bar, waiting for life to happen to him. Then, one night, Elsa - bold, enigmatic, unpredictable - whirls into Jacques' bar and into Ralf's world, knocking him out of his cautious routine and into a life full of spontaneity and excitement. But Elsa is hiding something. As Ralf falls deeper in love, he reveals more of his past - his childhood in Nazi Germany, his time in a British tank division at the end of the Second World War. But what is Elsa hiding? And can their love survive it? Let Us Be True charts the lives of these two extraordinary characters through an era of great uncertainty, from the war and its aftermath through to the deadly unrest of 1960s Paris. Evocative, charismatic and sweeping in scope, Alex Christofi's second novel is a moving story of love and loss, of the things we hide from ourselves and from others, and of the personal cost of Europe's turbulent twentieth century.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.