4 reasons to rush to "Broken hearts syndrome", the first novel by Salomé Baudino

With her first novel entitled "Broken Hearts Syndrome", Salomé Baudino plunges us into a love story thwarted by relentless digital prophecy. If the latter says they are lost, Victor and Lola, the two heroes of the book, will nevertheless do everything to prove him wrong.

In bookstores since March 3, 2021, Broken hearts syndrome (Editions de l'Observatoire) asks a question that would turn the heads of lovers around the world: what if love had an expiration date? Thanks to an invention, this date could indeed be communicated to us without a shadow of a doubt … Here is why we advise you.

While the heart of an 80-year-old has beaten an average of three billion times in his lifetime, Victor and Lola alone had two millennia of palpitations on the clock.

# 1 A novel that skilfully mocks the shortcomings of our time

For five seasons now, the British anticipation series Black Mirror has been warning viewers around the world about the excesses of technological innovation. In Broken Hearts Syndrome, Salomé Baudino also shows us a reality (our future?) In which an apparently revolutionary invention turns the fate of millions of people upside down. This invention has a name, TimeWise, and its purpose is to determine the end date of a love affair. For Victor and Lola, madly in love, it comes as a shock when they discover that they only have two months left to live together. Salomé Baudino analyzes here with great finesse and intelligence the way in which this digital prophecy will take everything in its path, upsetting the certainties of one, cracking the fragile confidence of the other. The idea is as brilliant as it is disturbing, and the reader enjoys imagining what she would do with TimeWise in her hands.

# 2 Philosophical questions approached with lightness

Lola, the heroine of the novel, is a student of philosophy and this choice obviously owes nothing to chance. Because Broken hearts syndrome is far from being just a love story, this ambitious first novel also asks essential questions: are we really in control of our destiny? Should we call for a society that leaves no room for the unexpected? Are truth and knowledge just illusions? With the computer program proudly displaying a 100% success rate, its result is indisputable. And for Lola and Victor, knowing that their relationship is doomed to end is a real cataclysm. However, they decide to face him like two convicts who are still combative, despite the prospect of an inevitable sentence. And with the hope, of course, of beating the odds …

# 3 a universal love story

Broken hearts syndrome This is not an invention, this is a real heart syndrome that occurs after intense emotional stress! It is precisely this evil that will strike Victor, overwhelmed by the revelations of TimeWise. And one can only be touched by the very strong bond between the young man and his companion. A simple and beautiful love story that Salomé Baudino puts into words with mischief. Victor and Lola take turns expressing themselves, getting lost and reuniting with each other over the pages. Their doubts, their procrastination, their hopes become ours and their story makes you want to believe that true love can be free from everything, and especially the algorithms that invade our lives.

# 4 Salomé Baudino, a promising young author

Broken hearts syndrome is the debut novel by a promising young author. At only 25 years old, Salomé Baudino displays an assertive style and a real talent as a storyteller. Her pen can be sometimes incisive, sometimes tender, and the care she takes for the psychology of her characters makes them immediately familiar and endearing. A writer very much in touch with her time and the concerns of her generation, she nevertheless manages to give her book a universal scope. A novel that continues to question long after having closed it, and a great success.

Broken hearts syndrome, Salome Baudino
The Observatory Editions

Esther Buitekant

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