A Good Life

By: Virginie Grimaldi, Hildegarde Serle

Narrated by: Liz Fodor

Full of humor and compassion, this Indie Next Pick is a profound exploration of sisterhood, healing, and the ineffable beauty of life.

Sisters Emma and Agathe were thick as thieves when they were young but have always been as different as can be. Five years older, Emma was the defender, protector, and worrier for her fiery younger sister until tragedy marred their relationship.

For a long time, Emma has kept her distance from Agathe and her chaos. But when their adored grandmother dies, they must return together to Spain to empty out her house and, in the process, reconcile, remember, and pour out what is hidden inside their hearts.

Alternating between the sisters' childhood and the present day, Grimaldi's delicately wrought prose paints complex portraits of the two women, asking if the scars of the past can ever truly be healed, and what, in the end, is a good life.

Laughter, tears, and the transformative power of love — these are the ingredients that combine to make this uplifting, compelling literary novel the summer pick of 2024.

©2024 Virginie Grimaldi (P)2024 Europa Editions

Critic reviews

“A life-affirming look at how love and dedication can overcome pain and heal scars.”—The Washington Post

"Lovers of Europa Editions' other titles My Brilliant Friend and Fresh Water for Flowers will fall hard for this beautiful, heartbreaking, and healing story. Grab a box of tissues!" — Electric Lit

“Grimaldi is a best-selling author in France, and her bittersweet English-language debut is sure to tug at the heartstrings of readers who appreciate moving novels which explore the complexities of sisterly love and mental illness, such as All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews (2014), or Everything Here is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee (2018).”—Booklist

“[Grimaldi] sees life as an extended dialogue of sorts, with others and with ourselves. She isn’t too concerned about right and wrong, seeing both terms as limiting and beside the point...In Grimaldi’s universe, it seems to be about the difficulties and messiness of love and what we must be willing to do to keep it forever.”—World Literature Today

“As the sisters tentatively attempt to reconnect, their fractured pasts are slowly revealed in ways that are both sweet and heartbreaking, the story deftly explores all aspects of their lives, from the scars of their girlhoods to the challenges of motherhood, and everything in between.”—Paste Magazine

The story is wonderful but the audio file is wonky

I love this story of sisters once close before they fell out but now many years later they’re remembering how much they love and need each other.

Unfortunately the audio file is wonky. For instance, chapter 69 is two different chapters playing simultaneously. I hope it was just my app or the download so I deleted the audio and redownloaded but it still happened. If I didn’t have the physical book to read from I’d be fuming.

A wonderful, emotional journey

Such a charming story of sisterhood wonderfully woven by Grimaldi with witty and poignant journal-esque entries. And, the narration was lovely, I felt like I could see all the characters' faces. In fact, this would make a brilliant film. I think I need to go on holiday to France, now. *There is an audio snafu where two chapters are playing at the same time, so that was rather disappointing. But, since that's a technical issue and not the fault of the author or narrator, I gave it all the stars.

A Good Life is not a good Book

I cannot recommend this book. The story is mediocre the narrator if you listen to it audibly is not good. Her voice is monotonous. Don’t waste your time or money on this book.

Awful narration!

The whining or rasping tones were very difficult to listen to. Wished I had read it instead.