Climates

“Stripped of its period shading, this is a sad and timeless tale of women on pedestals and the pain of loving not wisely, but too well.”—Kirkus Review

“This lucid new translation of a novel originally published in 1928 probes the timeless complications, betrayals, and fascinations wrought by love…With Sarah Bakewell’s (How to Live) introduction providing historical context and insight into the autobiographical nature of Maurois’s material, this new edition of Climates marks a valuable reintroduction to a neglected master.—Publishers Weekly

“The book’s…aphoristic philosophy is timeless.”—New York Times

“Climates’ prose affects a restrained elegance…which retains its period’s aura…At the same time, its gentle rhythm allows Maurois’ many insights to pop throughout like tiny bombs.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Climates…is orderly yet unsettling. It breathes an air that is profoundly civilized, but there is something violent and shattering about it, too. ‘Even when it’s mutual, love is terrible,’ says Philippe. It is terrible simply to be human—and there can be no subject more interesting to write about, or more beautiful, than that.”—The New Yorker

“Climates is a delicious romantic bonbon that yanks the heartstrings.”—Wall Street Journal

“A beautiful and heartbreaking novel of two marriages and the fractures endured by both…In this new translation, its penetrating examination of the psychology of love is made vivid for a new generation.”—Granta

“An irresistible, micro-Proustian novel about a jealous husband and the woman who tries to save him.”—Paris Review

“This new translation by Adriana Hunter fully captures the elegance and frivolity of its era. It artfully preserves timeless questions about the nature of love, too. Marcenat[‘s]…quest for the right “climate” for love shows the approach to be just as problematic nearly a century later.”—The Daily Beast

“The stark truth of human nature paired with the romantic notion of love makes this story a whirlwind of happiness and tragedy.”—Examiner.com