About the Book
Chanson
In 1930’s France, Chanson is a 7-year-old film star who acts beside his mother in all of her films. Following a train crash and long illness, he must navigate a life of emotional turmoil and physical degradation. Chanson is bombarded with change after change, moving from a life of stardom in the cinema’s Golden Age to life as a humble shepherd.
Lys Fortescue
She is the first person described in chapter one and the first person you’ll find yourself grieving… This is the mother, the maman, the film star, the life and joy of the family.
Her life had been filled with love, beauty, drama, and she was somehow able to hold onto the pieces of her broken life. She was orphaned as a young girl and adopted by a family who encouraged her as she became a Hollywood film star. Through WWI and navigating what love meant and what hope was, Lys learned how to abide in the Lord and extend mercy where mercy was most needed. She was the core of her family, the puzzle piece that completed their blissful painting. The memory of Lys would be something to cherish-and thankfully she would still live-on upon the silver screen.
Louis-Etienne Fortescue
He is the father, the architect, the shepherd, the one who automatically becomes a child again so that he can play rambunctious games with his children.
Aristocracy played out brokenness in his childhood, and duty always came before love. His parents rarely had the time of day for the latter-but this was all he knew, not knowing what love and compassion really meant. After serving in WWI, he tried navigating what compassion really looked like-as though his aristocrat, pristine garden had suddenly burned to ashes in the realities of war. Then, being hit by grief after a train crash shattered what he thought was his family’s cornerstone, he thought starting life over would be the solution to finding peace. In all of his wandering, would he ever come to the Lord’s doorstep?
Curtis Fortescue
He’s the big brother, the musician, the playful artist, the one who will be left behind-left solely with his family’s sweet memories (but don’t worry, he’ll be left behind only for a short time!).
He was unmanageable. His mind was as a sheet of music playing continuously. The air of his composition was actually in the air-up in the clouds, floating around consuming everything that seemed to conduct the formation of rhythm.
Grand-père Louis Fortescue
He is the one you’ll feel the most curiosity for, but also the most animosity towards. He is the grandfather, the architect, the guardian, the one who holds the most secrets, but also the one who needs the most redeeming love.
He was a Parisian Architect with values that pushed away love and family. “My pride is too strong to knock down. And my guilt is even stronger. The shame I hold inside could separate mountains.” Such shame he hid inside until those around him began breaking into pieces. Could his youngest grandson mend the brokenness of the past, just by extending his innocence, love, and the Lord’s light onto this grumpy old man?
