La Traversee Du Desert

Rights available.Major Alexander Laing was the first European to reach Timbuktu in August 1826. Starting from Tripoli where he left behind the young woman he had recently married, he traveled three thousand kilometers through the Sahara before he entered the mythical city. But the adventure turned into a nightmare. On the way back, Laing was assassinated. The discovery of this 'pearl of the desert' would be attributed two years later to a Frenchman, René Caillié. Botanist Gabriel Barthomieux is forever recounting this tragic expedition. Young photographer Ariane follows him into the desert wondering what is so fascinating about Laing. Finally, Gabriel convinces her to write a novel about him. After all, the "Laing file" could not be more dramatic: unfulfilled love, horrific assassination, documents that mysteriously vanish, all unraveling in a Saharan setting, against a backdrop of diplomatic incidents. Ariane will soon understand that this story leads deep into the secret of amorous passion. Jarry's La traversée du désert is both a completely engrossing novel and a book that offers its reader the chance to embark on an essential inner journey.Isabelle Jarry is the author of L'homme de la passerelle (awarded the prix du Premier roman, Seuil, 1992), L'Archange perdu (Mercure de France, 1994), Le jardin Yamata (Stock, 1999), George Orwell, cent ans d'anticipation (Stock, 2003), J'ai nom sans bruit (Stock, 2004), and Millefeuille de onze ans (Stock, 2007). She has also written three books on Théodore Monod.