'If Only It Were True' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels

F rench novelist Marc Levy’s 1999 debut, If Only It Were True , which was translated into English by Jeremy Leggatt the following year, is a quirky ghost story about love, loss, and fate. Arthur, a recently single architect, is surprised when he discovers Lauren, a hardworking ER nurse, hiding in the closet of his new San Francisco apartment. It turns out that she used to live there—until a serious car accident left her in a coma six months earlier. What’s even more surprising is that Arthur is the only one who can see, touch, and communicate with Lauren, whose spirit has detached itself from her comatose body in a nearby hospital. She needs Arthur’s help to become her whole self again, and the two embark on a series of fact-finding adventures that feel a lot like dates. The once-lonely pair find themselves falling in love just as Lauren’s mother decides to take her daughter off life support. Arthur must come up with a plan to save Lauren and their magical bond before it’s too late. If Only It Were True offers a heartwarming look at the lengths one will go for the one they love. It’s also the inspiration for Just Like Heaven , the 2005 movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo.

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