Is it insulting to turn a real person into a character in a book? The nature of historical fiction and the inherent trustworthiness of it is foregrounded in HHhH by Laurent Binet. Mr. Binet wants to tell the story of two men, Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík, who carried out an assassination attempt on the life of Reinhard Heydrich, second in command of the Nazi SS … Continue reading HHhH by Laurent Binet
From the very first page, we know who the killer is; we know that he’ll be captured, found guilty and sentenced to prison; but we don’t know who his victim is. Georges Simenon’s novel Acts of Passion takes the form of a long letter, written by a killer to the judge who sentenced him. The killer wants to explain why he did what he did; … Continue reading Acts of Passion by Georges Simenon
Visited the local Friends of the Library book sale yesterday, in the rain, where C.J. and I managed to spend much more than we intended. He got several art books and a couple of books full of house plans while I nearly completed my Jane Austen collection. Can you name the book I still have to find. I’ve decided it’s a good time to re-read all … Continue reading Sunday Ramble and Two Books I Didn’t Like. Sorry.
This is the most pornographic book I’ve read all year. My definition of pornography is probably different from yours. Pornography offers its viewers a fantasy depiction of something they cannot have, usually a sexual fantasy. At some point in life, one finds that Playboy, or Blueboy, or whatever, has been largely replaced with Architectural Digest– pictures of beautiful people give way to pictures of beautiful … Continue reading A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
On October 17, 1961, thousands of Algerians took to the streets of Paris in a peaceful demonstration against a curfew that had been imposed only on them. At the time, Algeria was engaged in a struggle for Independence from France which had long held the nation as a colony. The demonstrators were met with extreme violence from the police who opened fire on them without … Continue reading Murder in Memoriam by Didier Daeninckx
The trouble with Maigret in New York is clearly stated in the title. Inspector Maigret should stay in France, preferable in Paris. I suppose over the course of 75 novels Maigret was bound to leave the country at least once, but I much prefer him when he is at home. Certain books are associated with certain places–that becomes part of the fun, maybe part of the … Continue reading Maigret in New York by Georges Simenon
I love this book. I’m not sure what it’s about. But I do have five theories. Theory #1: A murder has taken place. The narrator describes the crime scene like a detective who does not know which bit of evidence will prove relevant. So the detective/narrator writes everything down without filtering his senses or his thoughts. The result appears random the way notes often do. … Continue reading Topology of a Phantom City by Alain Robbe-Grillet
Colette’s The Vagabond tells a story of backstage life in the music halls of turn of the century Paris. The narrator/heroine has left a failed marriage and career as a novelist to earn a living performing two shows a night as an actress in French pantomime. The Vagabond works as a backstage novel and as a source of insight into the its author, Colette. Because … Continue reading The Vagabond by Collete
The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette is a 350-year-old piece of historical fiction. Does that qualify as a sub-genre of sorts? Historical historical fiction? Written in the 1670’s by a member of the French court, The Princess of Cleves describes the romance between its title character and a man who is not her husband, set in the court of Henri II, some 100 … Continue reading The Princess of Cleves by Madame de Lafayette
A man suspects his wife is having an affair with his neighbor. He searches for proof, for clues, playing the same sequence of events over and over in his mind looking for signs. When did it begin? Do they suspect he knows? How far will the affair go? Alain Robbe-Grillet’s short novel, Jealousy, covers familiar territory– a married woman’s indiscretion with her married neighbor. But … Continue reading Jealously by Alain Robbe-Grillet
All Paris parks are the Luxembourg Gardens as far as I’m concerned. C.J. and I arrived early for the matinee. (Everything David Sedaris says about going to the movies in Paris is true.) Time to kill and no money to spend, the Luxembourg Gardens just up the street. Thirty minutes later and both of us are tempted to skip the movie in exchange for an … Continue reading The Square by Marguerite Duras
While there is no one to like in Colette’s novel Cheri, there is much to like. Cheri, a young man in his early 20’s, is the spoiled child of wealth. He has spent the last six years as the kept pet of Lea, the much older lifelong friend of his mother. Before Cheri was old enough to have affairs, Lea went through a series of … Continue reading Cheri by Colette
May Contain Spoilers 