What the Light Touches

A Novel

De: Xavier Bosch, Samantha Mateo - translator

Narrado por: Caroline Hewitt

Acclaimed author Xavier Bosch weaves an emotional tale of love and intrigue in this novel about a woman on the cusp of middle age, her beloved grandma, and a strange houseguest who changes everything.

Seventeen-year-old Margaux doesn’t realize one photo could change the course of her life. But in German-occupied Paris, nothing makes sense anymore. Margaux fears the worst when her lover is arrested. And when her photo appears in Nazi propaganda, her family’s reputation and prospects suffer the consequences.

In 2008, Margaux has moved into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara continues to live in the Paris apartment they used to share. Eager to escape unhappy circumstances, Barbara works remotely for a publishing company and rents out a room in “Mamie” Margaux’s apartment to help pay the bills.

One day, Barbara finds a stranger on her couch. Roger, who’s a curious photographer, uncovers shocking secrets about Barbara’s family. And when a snowstorm triggers a lockdown, he opens the door to tempting new possibilities.

A bestseller in its original Catalan at the 2023 Sant Jordi Book Fair, Bosch’s sweeping novel alternates between the two timelines, offering sustenance for historical fiction readers, WWII enthusiasts, and romantics alike.

©2023, 2025 by Xavier Bosch. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Translation © 2025 by Samantha Mateo.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“This is a prizewinning novel, translated from Catalan, that offers a poignant story of love and war, history, family, and consequences.”—Booklist

“A portrait of resilience and the power of love…”—Historical Novels Review

“A unique, skillfully crafted, and interesting read from start to finish.”—Midwest Book Review

Excellent

Very well done and superbly performed. Author did a great job with his characters and sharing wisdom is portrayed and shared in the book. A must read!

When the Light Touches

Margaux once lived a bold life in German-occupied Paris, but everything changed the day a single photo landed her in Nazi propaganda. Her lover was arrested. Her family’s reputation shattered. Decades later, in 2008, Margaux is in a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara is left behind in their old apartment, renting out a room to stay afloat and escape her own messy reality.

Enter Roger, a photographer with more curiosity than social grace, who shows up uninvited on Barbara’s couch and brings a storm of questions with him. When a snowstorm locks them inside, long-buried family secrets start surfacing, forcing Barbara to reckon with the past she didn’t know she inherited. Told across two timelines, What the Light Touches explores war, memory, and the strange ways strangers sometimes bring us home.

Spillin’ the Book Tea:
Let’s just say it — the first chunk of this book was tough to get through. Barbara and Roger’s story dragged, and I started to wonder if this was going to be one of those “it gets better, I swear” books. Spoiler: it did. Once Margaux entered the picture, I was pulled in. Her voice had the weight, the intrigue, and the emotional depth that kept me listening.

This one has multiple timelines and a wide cast, so it takes a bit of mental bandwidth, but it’s worth it if you like historical fiction that leans into family connections and hidden truths. It’s also clearly a translated work, and I think some of the bumps in rhythm and tone probably come from that. It didn’t ruin the experience, but it definitely made some of the early dialogue feel stilted and a bit of a struggle to get through. Still, the grandmother-granddaughter relationship really stood out, warm, rich, and believable without being overly sentimental. Thank you to Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for the ALC and the opportunity to provide this candid review.

The Vibes It Brings:
📚 Dual timelines across generations
🕰️ WWII-era backdrop
👩‍👧 Grandmother-granddaughter connection
🌍 Cross-cultural themes
🔍 Family secrets
🇫🇷 Resistance-era Europe
🧠 Requires patience, pays off
📖 Translation quirks
🧩 Woven perspectives

Narration:
Caroline Hewitt handled the emotional layering well and made the characters feel distinct. Her delivery fit the tone of the book and added just enough gravity to make you lean in. That said, the accent situation had me scratching my head. There were moments where the American accent would slip into something else and then back again, which was distracting. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, but it did pull me out of the story a few times. Whether that was a choice or a production direction, I couldn’t say, but it could have been tighter.

TL;DR:
What the Light Touches is a thoughtful, layered novel that rewards patience. It starts slow but finds its strength in Margaux’s journey and the emotional ties between past and present. Historical fiction fans who enjoy multi-generational stories with real emotional payoff should give this one a shot. Just be prepared to push through the rocky start.

Slow start

Overall I enjoyed this historical fiction. However, the beginning was slow to get to the main theme of the story. There may be a temptation to give up on it, but it does improve and was worth the read for those who like historical fiction. It was translated from French which may account for this.

Something was lost in translation

I enjoyed the Mami Margot storyline more than Barbara and Roger… their storyline seemed broken, and the passion was lost when translating to English. But still give it a read.

Butchered names

I finished the book in hard copy from the library. I could only take so many butchered Barbaras and Rogers before I started hating everything. Speak with an accent all of the time or none of the time. If you’re going to choose the accent, DO IT CORRECTLY.