I'm Still Here (Je Suis Là)

by Clelie Avit, Lucy Foster (Translator)

Overview

An irresistible, modern take on Sleeping Beauty, for fans of Jojo Moyes and David Nicholls.

Elsa has been in a coma for five months. With all hope of reviving her gone, her family and doctors are having to face the devastating fact that it might be time to turn off her life support... They don't realise that in the past few weeks Elsa has regained partial consciousness; she knows where she is and can hear everyone talking around her bed, but she has no way of telling them she's there.

Thibault is in the same hospital visiting his brother, a drunk driver responsible for the deaths of two teenage girls. Thibault's emotions are in turmoil and, needing a retreat, he finds his way into Elsa's room. Seeing her lying there so peacefully, he finds it hard to believe she is not just sleeping.

Thibault begins to visit Elsa regularly. As he learns more about her through her family and friends, he begins to realise that he is developing feelings for her. And when he talks to her, he can't help feeling that she can hear his every word...

For Elsa, his visits are like a breath of fresh air. Here is finally someone who speaks to her as if she is a real life person. Who makes her laugh. And who gives her something to fight for...

And so begins a love story that might just save both their lives...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455537624
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	08/23/2016
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Clélie Avit was born and raised in the Auvergne region of France. She works as a physics and chemistry teacher, while also teaching dance. Avit received the Prix Nouveau Talent for I'm Still Here (Je Suis La), her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

07/25/2016
A woman in a coma and a man in despair change each other's lives in this romantic debut novel. Elsa Bilier has been in a coma for 20 weeks, but recently regained her sense of hearing. Thibault Gramont drives his mother to the hospital to visit his injured brother, but is himself too disgusted with his brother—who killed two teenagers while driving drunk—to join the visits. When Thibault enters a random room, seeking escape, he finds Elsa. By the end of this odd encounter, Elsa hopes her friendly stranger will return, and he does. Thibault's visits bolster Elsa's determination to emerge from her coma, and her predicament inspires Thibault to start living his life differently, in hopes that they can someday share their lives. Both Elsa and Thibault display a refreshing combination of traits—Elsa's adventurous streak as a glacier climber mixed with her humorous romantic nature; Thibault's adoration of his goddaughter mixed with genuine rage at his brother—and each possesses a limpid, compulsive voice. However, the development of the romance is slightly lopsided. It is understandable that Elsa's attachment to this kind newcomer develops into love, but Thibault's emotional journey is less relatable. Though the reader knows that Elsa enjoys his company, Thibault himself cannot know this, and is thus in the unattractive role of a man entranced by a woman who can voice neither her opinions nor her consent. Nevertheless, Avit's novel succeeds thanks to the sheer charm of its narrators. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"A viscerally moving love story. I'M STILL HERE beautifully shows how the steady, quiet power of the heart can sustain anyone who takes on impossible odds."
—Sarah Pekkanen, Internationally bestselling author of The Perfect Neighbors

"Magnifique! With charming characters, a unique premise and a delightful, fresh voice, Clélie Avit s debut novel will have you cheering for life and love while you hungrily turn its pages. I'M STILL HERE (Je Suis Là) is a gift, and Clélie Avit is a writer to watch.—Julie Lawson Timmer, author of Five Days Left and Untethered

"I'M STILL HERE is a study in character development. It's a quiet novel that packs dramatic tension into a mostly one-room world. Avit's deft hand suggests the promise of more to come."—Bookpage.com

"A hauntingly beautiful read."
—Romantic Times

From the Publisher

2016-05-30
Too furious to visit his hospitalized brother, who killed two teenagers while driving drunk, Thibault slips into a different room, setting in motion a cascade of events that will test his ability to love.Instead of mending fences with his brother, teetotaler—or, rather, pineapple-juice guzzling—Thibault finds himself with a complete stranger. Reading the chart at the foot of her bed, ecology consultant Thibault discovers that Elsa has been comatose for five months, the victim of a glacial mountaineering accident. What no one knows, however, is that Elsa is waking up. Although she cannot speak, move, or even see yet, she can hear, and she's regaining enough chemical balance to feel real emotions. She's been bored listening to her few visitors: her sister always tells her about the latest in a string of boyfriends before succumbing to their amorous attentions in Elsa's room; her mother weeps; her father rarely comes; and her doctors discuss her as if she were an object. But this new person instinctively does everything to coax the comatose back to life: he visits often, speaking to her as if she were awake, and touches her—he even naps on her bed and brings his best friend's infant daughter, whose voice and caress delightfully overwhelm Elsa. Elsa has a new reason to fight for her life, but she'd better make progress soon before the doctors unplug her ventilator. Thibault, strangely enough, seems to be falling in love. That's where the discomfort begins in Prix Nouveau Talent winner Avit's debut novel. As the chapters alternate between Elsa's and Thibault's perspectives, the reader knows that Elsa's beginning to have feelings for Thibault, but he sees only a comatose woman. Avit demands that the reader suspend a little too much disbelief, as Thibault not only finds the unresponsive Elsa attractive, but also allows her to become the center of his life and dreams.A sometimes-uncomfortable "Sleeping Beauty."

Kirkus Reviews