Scan barcode
causticcovercritic's review
3.0
Really good until a total disastrous fuck-up of an ending, the kind Stephen King might think a good idea, featuring someone behaving as nobody ever in the course of human history has behaved.
aeliasus's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
patchworkbunny's review
4.0
When Gabriel steps off the train in a small Breton town, he is a complete stranger. Nobody knows where he came from or who he really is. Yet his small acts of kindness make an impression on the locals and he is soon welcomed into their community. But Gabriel may not be as straight forward as he seems, for he is troubled by his past.
The Panda Theory is a charming little French novella which might just err on the side of being a thriller. The publishers may categorise Garnier’s books as “noir” but I found the characters much more engaging than I would normally in noir fiction. Gabriel is a friendly man and the majority of the book shows how he touches the lives of several people in small but meaningful ways. All the characters seem real and remain feeling French throughout the translation. Gabriel’s past troubles are revealed in short flashbacks, slowly building up a picture of what he was running from.
The panda in question is a large stuffed toy Gabriel wins from the fair. He didn’t really want it but it seems to hang around. The panda welcomes everyone with open arms and a cheery demeanour. Is Gabriel like the panda? I’m not telling, although I really didn’t see the ending coming.
The Panda Theory is a charming little French novella which might just err on the side of being a thriller. The publishers may categorise Garnier’s books as “noir” but I found the characters much more engaging than I would normally in noir fiction. Gabriel is a friendly man and the majority of the book shows how he touches the lives of several people in small but meaningful ways. All the characters seem real and remain feeling French throughout the translation. Gabriel’s past troubles are revealed in short flashbacks, slowly building up a picture of what he was running from.
The panda in question is a large stuffed toy Gabriel wins from the fair. He didn’t really want it but it seems to hang around. The panda welcomes everyone with open arms and a cheery demeanour. Is Gabriel like the panda? I’m not telling, although I really didn’t see the ending coming.
reaa13's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
snoakes7001's review
5.0
We meet Gabriel in an unnamed railway station in Brittany. We don't know where he's going, where he's come from or why he's here.
Deciding to stay a while, he meets some of the town's inhabitants. Through his random acts of kindness, he quickly becomes accepted as one of them. Is he an angel like his namesake?
Slowly though, Pascal Garnier drip feeds us slivers of Gabriel's past. It's not until very close to the end that we finally discover what brought him to Brittany.
Deliciously dark and decidedly, well, Gallic.
Deciding to stay a while, he meets some of the town's inhabitants. Through his random acts of kindness, he quickly becomes accepted as one of them. Is he an angel like his namesake?
Slowly though, Pascal Garnier drip feeds us slivers of Gabriel's past. It's not until very close to the end that we finally discover what brought him to Brittany.
Deliciously dark and decidedly, well, Gallic.
elisala's review against another edition
3.0
J'ai un avis tout sauf tranché sur ce livre. La dédicace à Jean-Bernard Pouy en début de bouquin me laissait plutôt présager du bon.
Le ton général correspond bien à ce présage, les personnages aussi, un peu loufoques, un peu sortis de nulle part, leurs relations les uns avec les autres, l'enchaînement serré.
Mais dans le détail... un peu trop d'expressions tarabiscotées, de métaphores cheloues, une histoire qui se termine de manière un peu trop brutale (même si ça tient - à peu près - la route).
Bref, ça ne me laissera sans doute pas un souvenir impérissable...
Le ton général correspond bien à ce présage, les personnages aussi, un peu loufoques, un peu sortis de nulle part, leurs relations les uns avec les autres, l'enchaînement serré.
Mais dans le détail... un peu trop d'expressions tarabiscotées, de métaphores cheloues, une histoire qui se termine de manière un peu trop brutale (même si ça tient - à peu près - la route).
Bref, ça ne me laissera sans doute pas un souvenir impérissable...
debumere's review
4.0
Pascal Garnier was a great writer, short-ish stories, novellas, but he wrote very well. No drag or slow moments, compelling reading all the way.
Definitely one for those who like stories with a noir twist.
Definitely one for those who like stories with a noir twist.
han_cat's review
4.0
My third Pascal Garnier, and my favourite so far. Bleak and dark as you come to expect with him but also fantastically written with some excellent imagery and a well developed setting. Fully developed set of supporting cast characters and a lot of emotional depth to the main one. Overall a fully charged character driven story.
causticcovercritic's review against another edition
3.0
Really good until a total disastrous fuck-up of an ending, the kind Stephen King might think a good idea, featuring someone behaving as nobody ever in the course of human history has behaved.