
Our Rating:

Library Formats:
Book
Age Group:
Adults
Genre:
Historical Fiction, Romance, Adventure
This book has a wonderful cover which first attracted me to the story, and it has proved a lovely read. Translated from the French, this is the story of two men looking for the plant Venus in the sky but in fact ending up finding something entirely different. In 1760, Guillaume Le Gentil, a real-life astronomer, has been instructed by King Louis V to set out into the Indian Ocean to document the transit of Venus – one of the rarest astronomical phenomena – occurring every 121 years with an eight-year gap then occurring next in 105 years. The journey is full of adventure with new discoveries both on land and in the sky.
In parallel, 250 years later, Xavier Lemercier, a Parisian estate agent, chances upon an old telescope in a property he has sold. He brings it home hoping it help him bond with his son and as he looks out across the rooftops of Paris, he discovers a fascinating woman with a zebra in her apartment! Then she walks into his office, and everything changes.
Part adventure story, part modern-day love story, this is a lovely, enchanting book – witty and heart-warming.