After the Circus

A classic novel from recent Nobel Prize winner Patrick Modiano, now available to English-language readers in a superb new translation

"Modiano at his best."—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (starred review)

One of the hallmarks of French author Patrick Modiano’s writing is a singular ability to revisit particular motifs and episodes, infusing each telling with new detail and emotional nuance. In this evocative novel, the acclaimed author takes up one of his most compelling themes: a love affair with a woman who disappears, and a narrator grappling with the mystery of a relationship stopped short.

Set in mid-sixties Paris, After the Circus traces the relationship between the narrator, a young man not quite of legal age whose parents are absent, and the slightly older, enigmatic married woman he first glimpses while both are being questioned by the police. Jean and Gisèle make their uncertain way into each other’s company and hearts, but Jean soon finds himself in the ominous presence of the woman’s unsavoury associates—and drawn into their mysterious activities while adrift in Paris. Who are these people? What are they up to? Are they real, or simply evoked?

Part romance, part detective story, this mesmerising book fully demonstrates Modiano’s signature use of atmosphere and suggestion as he investigates the perils and the exhilaration of young love.