Bordeaux, a shrewd and moving portrayal of life in contemporary Europe, is the first novel to appear in English by Soledad Puértolas, one of the most acclaimed writers in Spain today.A novel that subtly takes the measure of our time, Bordeaux traces the fates of three people: Pauline Duvivier, an elderly woman who lives a solitary life in a tranquil suburb of Bordeaux; René Dufour, a Frenchman involved in unfulfilling relationships with several women; and Lilly Skalnick, a young American woman traveling in Europe. Their stories, which take place in France and elsewhere throughout Europe and the United States, intersect in seemingly random yet revealing ways, gradually forming a complex social portrait. Unifying all their stories are the themes of loneliness, restlessness, and the search for meaning in a world in which neither the past nor the present offers firm answers or lasting consolations.