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lalu's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was so not my cup of tea!
The story takes place in Paris in the 60's and is told in five chapters by four narrators who try to recall whatever they can remember from back then. Our protagonist Jacqueline (also called Louki) is a young woman who grew up in Paris and regularly roamed the streets at night. She gets married to some wealthy guy but soon runs away back to the parts of Paris she knows. She often attends meetings about occult sciences and is a regular at the Café Condé.
Chapter 1 was alright. It's told by an unnamed fellow guest of the Condé.
Chapter 2 is from the perspective of a private investigator who is looking for Jacqueline on behalf of her husband. For some unexplained reason he gets really emotional, almost manic. Like for no reason he suddenly acts aggressive towards the husband or some guy on the street who just wants to help. And then when he finally has a lead, he just doesn't tell the husband, because apparently Jacqueline is now the most important thing in his life?!
The story takes place in Paris in the 60's and is told in five chapters by four narrators who try to recall whatever they can remember from back then. Our protagonist Jacqueline (also called Louki) is a young woman who grew up in Paris and regularly roamed the streets at night. She gets married to some wealthy guy but soon runs away back to the parts of Paris she knows. She often attends meetings about occult sciences and is a regular at the Café Condé.
Chapter 1 was alright. It's told by an unnamed fellow guest of the Condé.
Chapter 2 is from the perspective of a private investigator who is looking for Jacqueline on behalf of her husband. For some unexplained reason he gets really emotional, almost manic. Like for no reason he suddenly acts aggressive towards the husband or some guy on the street who just wants to help. And then when he finally has a lead, he just doesn't tell the husband, because apparently Jacqueline is now the most important thing in his life?!
In the end the only interesting person was Jaqueline Delanque. There have been many Jacquelines in my life... But this one would be the last.
[translated by myself from the German translation]
Dude, seriously, what's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a PI, not get personally attached to someone you know nothing about. That's so weird and rather melodramatic.
Chapter 3 is by Jaqueline. It's very biographical, though the time jumps made it rather confusing.
Chapter 4 and 5 are from the perspective of Roland. Who is another weird and infuriatingly melodramatic dude. I'm not sure how he met Louki (the name that the guests in the Condé gave Jacqueline) but they go to the occult meetings together and it's with him that she one day decides not to return to her husband after one of those meetings.
Now on to the weirdness:
Chapter 3 is by Jaqueline. It's very biographical, though the time jumps made it rather confusing.
Chapter 4 and 5 are from the perspective of Roland. Who is another weird and infuriatingly melodramatic dude. I'm not sure how he met Louki (the name that the guests in the Condé gave Jacqueline) but they go to the occult meetings together and it's with him that she one day decides not to return to her husband after one of those meetings.
Now on to the weirdness:
I wonder if those streets still exists, and whether they were once and for all swallowed by dark matter.
What?
Soon we would travel. Where? We didn't know yet. Maybe to Mallorca or Mexico. Maybe to London or Rome. [...] Our only destination was further south, to drive where time stops and clock handles forever tell the same hour: noon.
Hate to tell you this... But London isn't even remotely close to what you're looking for - it's not even in the south!
And then one reoccurring theme is that people get lost. Not in a metaphorical sense, they just have no idea where they are on a map. In their home town. Sitting right in front of their home. And they seriously don't know how to get anywhere from there?! My guess is that they did way to many drugs.
And then Jacqueline/Louki commits suicide. The end.
No explanation, no climax, no aftermath. 2 pages before the end of the book she just dies and that's it.
The whole book was just pretentious, anticlimactic weirdness, told by unrelatable people.
And then one reoccurring theme is that people get lost. Not in a metaphorical sense, they just have no idea where they are on a map. In their home town. Sitting right in front of their home. And they seriously don't know how to get anywhere from there?! My guess is that they did way to many drugs.
No explanation, no climax, no aftermath. 2 pages before the end of the book she just dies and that's it.
The whole book was just pretentious, anticlimactic weirdness, told by unrelatable people.
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Death of parent
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