Distant Friend: A Novel

Nothing ever happens to Etienne. Born into a provincial French family, he grows up in the shadow of his ambitious successful brother. His personality passive, his life uneventful, he is resigned to his own inferiority--until he meets Stefan. German, Jewish, outgoing, and cosmopolitan, Stefan Stein could hardly be more unlike Etienne. Yet, when the two young teenagers first meet, they form a friendship that lasts for five decades, though their lives follow very different paths. In an attempt to come to terms with the sense of emptiness that threatens to overwhelm him, Etienne resolves to capture the story of his friendship with Stefan and thus becomes the narrator of this novel. From its matter-of-fact beginning to its bittersweet end, The Distant Friend reveals Etienne's sensitivity to the beauty and brutality of humanity, and the book's creation becomes his homage to life.