god this book is SO SO SAD. broke my heart but it was 100% worth it because it's so beautiful. also such a well-put together story ( it's a partly true story of the author--philippe besson--'s life). it's written in 3 parts, the first part is set in 1984 in france, the last part is set in 2016 and the second part is set somewhere in between. i was NOT expecting that plot twist at all like holy crap. also the ending of this book i can't- just thinking about it makes me want to tear up.

that letter that thomas wrote to philippe all those years ago oh my god he was never able to tell philippe how much he loved him. very much right person not enough time trope

😭