The Club of Irreparable Optimists

The hero of the novel is twelve years old. This is Paris in the early sixties. And this is the notorious transitional age, when everything — school, communication with parents, and life in general — is difficult. Michel Marini is no different from his peers, except for his passion for photography and his selfless love for reading. He also has a secret refuge — this is the back room of a Parisian bistro. There, strange people who have escaped from countries separated from the free world by the iron curtain argue, yearn, and play chess, waiting for their fate to be decided.

Surprisingly, it is here, in this little room, nicknamed the Club of Irreparable Optimists, that the power lines of the era intersect.

Jean-Michel Guenassia — a writer who has gained rapid popularity in recent years, is the author of the novels «The Club of Irreparable Optimists», «The Amazing Life of Ernesto Che», «Trick-Death», and others. French critics called his book «The Club of Irreparable Optimists» a masterpiece, and French high school students awarded the author the Goncourt Prize.