The Age of Reinvention is a stand-alone novel written by Karine Tuil. It was originally published as L'Invention de Nos Vies by Editions Grasset & Fasquelle on August 21, 2013, and was later translated to English by Sam Taylor on December 1, 2015. It is an international best seller and a finalist for the Prix Goncourt. The book consists of four parts and has a total of 76 chapters. The audio book is read by George Newbern.
Plot
On his eighteenth birthday, Samuel Baron finds out he is not who he thought he was. He is shocked to find that the people who raised him are not his real parents and that his real name is a variation of Christ's, a big surprise with his Jewish upbringing. This is a source of great emotional turmoil for Samuel. In his anger, he leaves his parents to attend college in France, where he meets his girlfriend Nina, a beautiful girl born to a broken military family. While at college, he and Nina meet the ambitious, seductive Sam Tahar—not to be confused with Samuel Baron.
Suddenly, Samuel's parents are killed in a car accident. Before leaving to repatriate his them, Samuel tells Sam to look after Nina. After an exam, Nina comes to Sam in tears. Betraying Samuel's trust, Sam and Nina sleep together. Samuel returns and never learns of the incident, but things aren't the same between them. At the end of the school year, Samuel senses their relationship and gives Nina an ultimatum: him or Sam. Samuel, feeling that it is over between him and Nina, tries to commit suicide as a desperate last attempt to keep her. Nina, moved by this final act, stays with him.
Years later, Sam has become one of America's top lawyers and is married to one of the most prestigious families in New York. Samuel and Nina, however, are living among the lower-class. They see Sam on TV, and Samuel pushes Nina to contact him. He is afraid that if Nina could do it over again, she would choose Sam. Nina and Sam rekindle their lost passion, and she leaves Samuel. Sam hides his affair with Nina. But as it turns out, the affair isn't the only thing Sam is hiding. When Sam's half-brother Francois appears in his office one day, his mysterious past begins to unravel. His real name is Samir Tahar. He is of Arabic descent, not Jewish descent as everyone believes. In an attempt to make his half-brother disappear, he creates a foreign bank account to support him. Unbeknownst to Samir, his brother gets involved in terrorist activities using the money Samir supplies. Late one night, Samir is arrested in his home. The United States of America is pressing charges against Samir for funding terrorist activity. His family feels betrayed, and the media spreads the truth about Samir's roots across America. Nina, unaware of his imprisonment, believes that he has lost interest in her, and she returns home to France.
Once Nina leaves Samuel, he is destroyed. He begins to do drugs, and his life seems to take a turn for the worse. But in his pain, he finds inspiration to write. With his first published novel titled Consolation, Samuel skyrockets into success. But despite his success, he finds that he still isn't content. He is drained by the constant interviews and media coverage that come with the popularity of his book. Upon hearing of Samir's imprisonment, he decides to be a witness for Samir so that he can write a new book about it. But once he sees the state that Samir is in, he is unable to bring himself to it. Despite all the hurt Samir has caused him, he testifies for Samir's case and writes an article in France that helps put the people on Samir's side. After sixty-six days of brutal interrogation, Samir is released.
Once Nina arrives back in France, she is shocked to find a new family in Samuel's old apartment, unaware of his newfound success. She is left to live among the homeless on the streets. When Samuel discovers this, he hires an investigator to track her down. When he finds her at a homeless women's shelter, he tries to convince her to come back. She has gained weight and stopped caring for her appearance, but she finds comfort in letting go of what she used to hold on to so dearly. She refuses to go with him. She wants to live a life of her own.
The novel concludes with each character left with the effects of the life they constructed for themselves. Though they achieved what they had dreamed, they were unable to find happiness in their goals. Samir must start his life anew. His wife has filed for divorce, and many of his clients have moved companies. Samuel no longer has the girl he loved, and Nina has left the life she's always known for where she feels like she truly belongs.