What the Light Touches: A Novel

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 of 1940, 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 moves into a retirement home, and her granddaughter Barbara comes to live in her Paris apartment.

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