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ishizuka's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
meenakshisankar's review against another edition
4.0
A witty and interesting novel about a Parisian art dealer, his personal life and events that impact his professional life (mainly the theft of art works that he brings from a trip to the Arctic). The author uses shifting narrative focus very effectively to keep the readers engaged. And there were a good number of standout LOL moments.
amosr's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't find the jokes very amusing. maybe I took it too seriously
komet2020's review against another edition
3.0
When I began reading "I'M GONE" 3 days ago, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. At first reading, the writing style seemed too glib and casually crafted, bordering on the banal. But the author, I think, did a clever thing by inserting in the opening pages, Felix Ferrer leaving his wife Suzanne - intent on divorcing her, and - following a quick ride on the Metro - finding instant refuge with one of his mistresses, at her place on the Rue de l'Arcade in Paris. (I smiled to myself at this point, because I myself had been to the Rue de l'Arcade when I visited Paris a few years ago.)
But the more I read "I'M GONE", the more I came to see it as a modern morality play. Ferrer, a failed sculptor, owns an arts and antiques shop in the heart of Paris, where he has several artists as clients. He is facing hard times. Most of his artists are not selling well. Business is nigh well stagnant. But then, Delahaye, his mousy, ill-dressed assistant, alerts him to a collection of rare Paleoarctic relics on a ship that had been ensnared in an ice floe in the far north of Canada and abandoned by its crew in 1957. (Paleoarctic relics are highly prized in the art world by virtue of their rarity.) Ferrer then has one of those EUREKA! moments, and spares himself no effort nor expense in travelling over to Canada to find this ship in a rather desolate, barren, wintry landscape.
The story proceeds to take the reader on a ride that has many meandering twists, turns, and spins. Ferrer is sorely tested -- so much so that when I got to the end of the novel, I couldn't help but wonder: WHAT NEXT? The experience of reading "I'M GONE" was like being on a roller-coaster ride. It started off slow and uncertain, then accelerated after scaling the first mountain and negotiating a series of sharp turns and dips. And then, when all is said and done, and the roller-coaster takes one back to the starting point, one lets out a sigh and reflects aloud: "now that was more interesting than I thought it would be."
But the more I read "I'M GONE", the more I came to see it as a modern morality play. Ferrer, a failed sculptor, owns an arts and antiques shop in the heart of Paris, where he has several artists as clients. He is facing hard times. Most of his artists are not selling well. Business is nigh well stagnant. But then, Delahaye, his mousy, ill-dressed assistant, alerts him to a collection of rare Paleoarctic relics on a ship that had been ensnared in an ice floe in the far north of Canada and abandoned by its crew in 1957. (Paleoarctic relics are highly prized in the art world by virtue of their rarity.) Ferrer then has one of those EUREKA! moments, and spares himself no effort nor expense in travelling over to Canada to find this ship in a rather desolate, barren, wintry landscape.
The story proceeds to take the reader on a ride that has many meandering twists, turns, and spins. Ferrer is sorely tested -- so much so that when I got to the end of the novel, I couldn't help but wonder: WHAT NEXT? The experience of reading "I'M GONE" was like being on a roller-coaster ride. It started off slow and uncertain, then accelerated after scaling the first mountain and negotiating a series of sharp turns and dips. And then, when all is said and done, and the roller-coaster takes one back to the starting point, one lets out a sigh and reflects aloud: "now that was more interesting than I thought it would be."
jeeleongkoh's review
2.0
Jean Echenoz's I'm Gone won the Prix Goncourt. It's very ironic, very cool, very French. I don't like it much. I much prefer Michel Houellebecq, who has been described as a poisoned cherry.
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