The apartment immediately appealed to me, especially because it was located on the Left Bank, an area I'd never lived in before. I spent my childhood in Passy, as a married father on the Boulevard des Batignolles, and as an elderly divorcee on the Rue Quentin-Bauchart. Is wisdom a matter of age? The sharp judgment of a loved one or unpredictable, strange events can drastically change a life. The protagonist of this story, a cynical fifty-something, travels from New York to Venice in search of a mysterious woman. Will he finally find the lost happiness he constantly yearns for? Tatiana de Rosnay's debut, "L'Appartement témoin," published in 1992, encompasses all her signature themes: the secrets within apartments, the wounds of the past, and the burden of silences. The author also introduces us to her passion for Mozart and Venice.