Second Best by David Foenkinos

Author:David Foenkinos
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallic Books

12

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth book in the series, was about to hit France. On 3 December 2003, to be precise. That day, or rather the night before, fans queued for hours. Bookshops opened at the stroke of midnight to make the moment even more of an event. Year after year, the phenomenon had grown monstrously. In the UK, the book had sold almost two million copies in just one day. Unheard of – unimaginable, even. For the first time, a book in English had stayed the whole summer on the bestseller list in France; readers who could manage without the translation had already flocked to buy the book. J. K. Rowling had become the most read author in the world.

Martin particularly dreaded times like this when it was impossible for him to avoid it. Since his impassioned reading of the first book, he hadn’t opened a Harry Potter book. He knew that all around him people were devouring the new story. They were bound to ask his opinion, and he would have to admit he hadn’t read it, trying to appear aloof. But the torment wouldn’t end there. They would try to convince him, encourage him, make him feel guilty. ‘What? You haven’t read it? Impossible! I’ll lend it to you.’ They would constantly trigger his worst nightmare. Of course, there was an upside: the publication of the books hurt less than the film releases. There was a sort of hierarchy of pain.

One day, when he was once again being implored to read the latest Harry Potter, he thought about replying: ‘I can’t. It’s too painful for me.’ They surely would have asked him why. And Martin would have launched into his incredible story. So many times, the confession had been on the tip of his tongue. To begin with, no one would believe him. But, with proof, he would quickly convince them. What would happen then? Would they make fun of his failure? Surely not. He was convinced of the opposite: that the account of his wretched adventure would have lent him an air of mystery. Everyone would crowd around to question him. They would beg him for behind-the-scenes stories. And if he mentioned his meeting with Ron and Hermione, he would become the star of the school, without a doubt. So why? Why didn’t he tell them? For the simple reason that he didn’t want to be associated with this failure. He didn’t want to read it in people’s eyes for evermore: ‘Oh, that’s the boy who was almost Harry Potter.’

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.