Leon and Louise

Longlisted for the German Book Prize.

A life-long love affair that survives the tribulations of two World Wars, Léon and Louise tells the story of Alex Capus' French grandfather. It charmed readers in Germany, where it sold nearly two hundred thousand copies and, in the year following publication, never left the Der Spiegel bestseller list.

Summer 1918. The First World War is drawing to a close when Léon falls in love with Louise Janvier. Both are severely wounded by German artillery fire, are separated, and believe each other to be dead. Briefly reunited two decades later, the lovers are torn apart again by Louise's refusal to destroy Léon's marriage and the German invasion of France. Through occupied Paris during the Second World War, where Léon struggles against the abhorrent tasks imposed on him by the SS, and the wilds of Africa, where Louise confronts the hardships of her primitive environment, they battle the vicissitudes of history and the passage of time for the survival of their love.

Léon and Louise's is an enduring passion and an enchanting tale of love's triumph against improbable odds. It is a story masterfully told. Alex Capus' poetic, understated language is beautifully translated by John Brownjohn.

Alex Capus is the author of Sailing by Starlight.