The Devil's Reward

Three generations of women untangle a complex family story that spans the twentieth century and reveals unexpected insights about marriage and fidelity

Christiane, eighty-six years old with a vibrant sense of humor, lives alone in a large apartment in the heart of Paris. Her daughter, Catherine, could not be more different; sullen and uptight, she resents her unfaithful Milanese husband. After discovering yet another affair, Catherine takes refuge in Paris at her mother's home, accompanied by her own daughter, Luna. Christiane, who in spite of occasional dalliances lived a beautiful love story with her late husband, uses all of her freethinking charm to try to wean Catherine of her rigid self-pity.

While listening to her mother and grandmother, Luna discovers, by chance, that her great-grandfather had met the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the subject of the thesis she is writing. To satisfy Luna's avid curiosity, Christiane tells the story of her family. Memories resurface, and past events are reconstructed, shedding new light on the present.

With a keen, lighthearted wit, *The Devil's Reward* shows that life may be complicated and often painful, but if conventional morals prevail, it becomes unbearable.