It's a powerful message which begins with the novel's title - a meditation on our obsession with beauty, celebrity and the consequences for those lumbered with one or both, delivered in a deceptively simple package stuffed full of filmic references and peppered with poetic quotations. It's a little gem and it's been a long time in the offing in translation. A Life In Books This smart romantic comedy is charmingly Gallic and cries out to be filmed as a sentimental comedy. SUNDAY TIMES At once tender and harrowing, light-hearted and profound, it is a highly original and affecting read. THE LADY

Gregoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes in 1960. His first novel, L'ECRIVAIN DE LA FAMILLE, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes, including the PRIX MARCEL PAGNOL and the PRIX RIVE GAUCHE. He is the author of THE LIST OF MY DESIRES, a runaway No.1 bestseller in France, with rights sold in 27 countries. His most recent novel - forthcoming in English translation in 2016 - has been longlisted for the PRIX GONCOURT. Gregoire lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife. www.gregoire-delacourt.com