El Club dels optimistes incorregibles

Synopsis of El Club dels optimistes incorregibles

Michel Marini, an amateur photographer and compulsive reader, remembers his twelve years in 1959, when he frequented the Balto café in Paris. In an adjoining room, he meets Igor, Leonid, Sasha, and Imré, members of the club of incorrigible optimists. These men, who have crossed the iron curtain to save their lives, have left behind love and their families, being forced to betray their ideals to survive. Friendship with the members of the club changes Michel's life, helping him overcome his family and sentimental problems. As he becomes the youngest member of the group, Michel learns about the world and discovers the terrible secret that unites these men. This novel is a portrait of a generation and a reconstruction of an era and its ideals.