What Ida Says
Louise was born and raised in Normandy, but now lives in Berlin. One day, quite by chance at a family funeral in Normandy, she meets a distant cousin – Ida – for the first time, and discovers a dark family secret. Ida and Louise’s mother Paulette were close friends and confidantes. During the German occupation of France, Paulette’s passionate affair with Franz, a German soldier, caused a scandal. It was Ida who provided Paulette and Franz with an alibi to cover their secret trysts. Now Louise suspects that there are many more secrets locked away in Ida’s past.
With sensuous language rich in imagery, Odile Kennel’s novel describes a Franco-German family history recounted from the perspective of three women. A story of friendship and betrayal, of things forgotten, hidden and withheld, set against a background of momentous events.