Books › Hunting and Gathering
Hunting and Gathering
496 pages
A tender, slow-burning embrace of a novel about broken people finding a home in one another.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like stepping out of the cold Parisian rain into a warm, chaotic apartment filled with the smell of roasting meat and the sound of bickering friends. It is a deeply comforting, leisurely exploration of loneliness and the quiet miracles of human connection. The narrative unfolds through small, everyday moments—shared meals, hesitant conversations, and the slow dismantling of emotional walls. Gavalda’s prose is sharp yet profoundly tender, capturing the fragile humanity of her misfit characters without ever tipping into pure sentimentality. It is a book for anyone who believes in the healing power of found family, offering a bittersweet but ultimately joyous reading experience that lingers like the memory of a perfect dinner party.
- Mood
- cozy
- intimate
- bittersweet
- heartwarming
- Tone
- compassionate
- wry
- tender
- observant
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- found family · healing through connection · the art of daily living · urban loneliness · aging and dignity
- The writing
- Elegant yet conversational, filled with sharp dialogue and tender observations of human frailty.
- The arc
- Moves from profound isolation and quiet despair to a warm, chaotic, and deeply comforting sense of belonging.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love character-driven, slice-of-life stories about quirky misfits finding solace in each other over shared meals and quiet moments.
Content notes
- eating disorders
- aging and elder care
- depression
- loneliness
About the book
Prize-winning author Anna Gavalda has galvanized the literary world with an exquisite genius for storytelling. Here, in her epic new novel of intimate lives-and filled with the "humanity and wit" (Marie Claire) that has made it a bestselling sensation in France-Gavalda explores the twists of fate that connect four people in Paris. Comprised of a starving artist, her shy, aristocratic neighbor, his obnoxious but talented roommate, and a neglected grandmother, this curious, damaged quartet may be hopeless apart, but together, they may just be able to face the world.
Description from Open Library.
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