
In the languid heat of an August afternoon, Annette drifts in a sun‑lit bedroom, wrapped in a white robe while the world outside hums with the distant bustle of the 1900 Paris Exposition. She savors every subtle sensation—the faint scent of garden strawberries, the rustle of leaves, the distant chime of a street bell—turning ordinary moments into a private symphony of feeling. This heightened awareness creates a serene bubble where time seems to pause, and Annette basks in a rare, untroubled completeness.
Her quiet reverie is disturbed when her sister Sylvie bursts in, determined to pull Annette out of her dreamy isolation and toward a conventional future. Sylvie’s relentless pleas for marriage clash with Annette’s newfound contentment, sparking a tender yet spirited tug‑of‑war between duty and desire. Their exchange reveals a family bond tested by contrasting visions of happiness, setting the stage for a summer that will challenge both sisters’ expectations.
Language
fr
Duration
~10 hours (578K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Laura Natal Rodrigues at Free Literature (Images generously made available by Hathi Trust.)
Release date
2019-11-10
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1866–1944
A French novelist, dramatist, music historian, and essayist, he wrote with deep feeling about art, conscience, and the moral struggles of modern life. Best known for the multi-volume novel cycle Jean-Christophe, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1915.
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