Dear Mr. Dormandi:

I am afraid Mrs. Himmelblau is right: while her translation is not exactly bad, it certainly is not good enough to do your book justice. I much prefer sending it out in the original French. I also think that VIE DES AUTRES is one of your best, and have not given up hope of selling it.

I was delighted to hear that you have bought a new house on the Ile de la Cite. My heartiest congratulations, and I hope that you and your family will be very happy in it. And I promise that the next time I am in Paris, I certainly will look you up.

Yvonne and I very much regret that we haven’t seen more of Olga on her last visit here. It was partly our fault that we didn’t call her, but for the past three months we had a rather tough time. Aside from the fact that the baby had one cold after another, Yvonne had what our doctors call, a pinched nerve. Her muscled on her neck were pressing on one of the nerve center, and she was in terrible pain. She had to go to the doctors three times every week, and even had to wear a neck band. She is still going to the doctor, but fortunately fells a little better. Let’s hope she will be all right soon.

Your new novel sounds most exciting. It is a wonderful idea, even though the construction seems rather unusual. I am looking forward to reading it.

I am still working on your short stories. If you have any new ones, please do not hesitate to send them along.

All the best to you and Olga from the three of us,

Maximilian Becker