The International Booker Prize-shortlisted masterpiece on grief and loss from one of France's
most original writers at work today A Leopard-Skin Hat may be Anne Serre's most moving novel
yet. A masterpiece of simplicity emotion and elegance it is the story of an intense
friendship between the Narrator and his close childhood friend Fanny who suffers from
profound psychological disorders. A series of short scenes paints the portrait of a
strong-willed and tormented young woman battling many demons and of the Narrator's loving and
anguished attachment to her. Serre poignantly depicts the bewildering back and forth between
hope and despair involved in such a relationship while playfully calling into question the
very form of the novel. Written in the aftermath of the death of the author's little sister A
Leopard-Skin Hat is both the celebration of a tragically foreshortened life and a valedictory
farewell. Translated from French by Mark Hutchinson.
