Pierre Marie La Valoise is incensed. He has just read with disbelief what he considers to be a criminally unfair biography of David Debrizzi, the renowned French concert pianist. Resting comfortably on the terrace of a Swiss sanatorium, La Valoise takes a pen in hand to rebut Sir Geoffrey's Life. He weeds through its distortions and omissions, its exaggerations and personal attacks, and supplies the version of the truth that he intended to incorporate into his own biography, The Death of David Debrizzi. 'Never have I begrudged you your Life,' writes La Valoise, 'any more than you would deny me my Death... Given the state of my health, and the treachery of my bastard of a British publisher - who loathes me merely because I am French - I feel it is safe to say that your Life will stand alone on the shelves for posterity, while my Death will remain untold.' Paul Micou's third novel at last gives La Valoise his say.
