The Breath of the Lake

Ruth. Tall and angular, she remains inconspicuous, unlike her pretty younger sister Lucille, a giggler and fashionista. Having lost their parents early, the girls live in a provincial mountain town, watched over by a stream of elderly relatives, until an impulsive and eccentric Sylvie, their late mother's sister, arrives in the house. Sylvie loves to sleep outdoors, greets the sunrise on a boat in the middle of the lake, spends her evenings in a dark room enjoying the silence, and aimlessly wanders through the forest all day. Is it an empty, meaningless existence or the attainment of higher spirituality? The two sisters perceive their strange aunt's habits differently: Lucille struggles to accept them, while Ruth finds a kindred spirit in Sylvie. Robinson's transparent, lyrical, and meditative prose, awarded many prestigious literary prizes, immerses the reader in a waking dream that opens new horizons and degrees of freedom.