The Art of Regret - Paperback

by Mary Fleming (Author)

Trevor McFarquhar lives a controlled, contrary existence. Traumatized by early childhood loss, the silence surrounding those losses, and then a sudden family relocation from the United States to France, he has no ambitions or dreams for his struggling Parisian bicycle shop or even for himself. Now in his late thirties, his romantic relationships are only casual--his friendships, few. He's both aloof and exacting, holding everyone to his own high standards while being unforgiving of their faults.
But then two things happen. The 1995 transit strike forces Parisians through Trevor's shop door to procure bicycles, and his once-sluggish business suddenly turns around. To his surprise, he is pleased. At the same time, Trevor enters into a relationship that threatens to destroy his relationship with his entire family. Humbled and ashamed, his veneer cracks, and he emerges from his cocoon a different man, ready to reconnect, to rediscover possibility, and ultimately to redeem himself.

Author Biography

Mary Fleming, originally from Chicago, moved to Paris in 1981, where she worked as a freelance journalist and consultant. Before turning full time to writing fiction, she was the French representative for the American foundation The German Marshall Fund. A long-time board member of the French Fulbright Commission, Fleming continues to serve on the board of Bibliothèques sans Frontières. She and her husband have five grown children and split their time between Paris and Berlin. The Art of Regret is Fleming's second novel. She writes a blog called A Paris-Berlin Diary at http: //mf.ghost.io.