One phrase to sum up Antoine Laurain’s The Red Notebook is that it’s “short and sweet”! The story begins with a woman named Laure being robbed of her purse, and a bookseller named Laurent discovers it near his place later on. From this brief summary, one could assume that this story would fall under the mystery genre. However, this is not like any other mystery that I have read before. The mystery is not figuring out who had stolen the purse, but rather, the mystery is on Laurent attempting to find out who the purse belongs to. His intention is to return the purse to her, but he is distracted with what he finds in Laure’s purse and becomes fascinated with her. Oddly enough, Laurent’s fascination with Laure was not at all disturbing and just made me all the more fascinated with Laure too!

Readers do not learn much about Laure from herself so we have no other choice but to learn with Laurent about Laure’s life from her purse. As someone who carries a purse every day and everywhere I go, I completely understand how one can leave her whole life in there, and Laure had done exactly that. In fact, Laurent finds Laure’s notebook where she laid out her most personal and intimate details and has never shared with anyone else. Truthfully, I would have liked to read more of Laure’s notebook and learn more about her, but at the same time, I did enjoy how Laurain did not provide any unnecessary descriptions and observations throughout the story. So, for those who yearn for a brief, yet satisfying, read, grab a copy of The Red Notebook!