2.51k reviews for:

L'anomalie

Hervé Le Tellier

3.81 AVERAGE

challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

as i read this novel about 240 airline passengers who suddenly become doubled (like, there are now two identical versions of every single passenger after their plane passes through an especially bad hailstorm), i kept thinking about why we keep returning to narratives about doubles and clones and doppelgangers. the three cinematic examples that i can think of--the double (of course, which is based on a dostoevsky novel), the prestige, and looper--all involve either killing your double and/or killing yourself to kill your double. why is that the default reaction, at least in fiction? that when we confront a mirror image ourselves, the immediate impulse is to destroy it?

so it was refreshing to read a doppelganger narrative where most of the pairs of characters (with one exception) communicate with, learn to live with, and even befriend their "other half." but this kumbaya-ish outcome is complicated with the ending, when the unnamed american president (clearly trump) decides to obliterate another plane (the “same” plane) filled with duplicates, killing them all.

my wife and i went to munich this summer and visited a museum that documents the history of the nazi party; the building is the former headquarters of the party. it's one of those museums where you take an elevator to the top and work your way down. as i literally descended into the horrors of the holocaust, i kept asking myself: what is this evil that haunts us? what is this hatred of the other, of the outgroup, that keeps appearing and reappearing across cultures and throughout time? we in america are living through yet another resurgence of this hatred, spearheaded by the current president. how do we convince people that the "other" is really ourselves--and that by destroying the other, we destroy ourselves?
mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Je ne comprends pas les avis négatifs qui disent que ce livre est ennuyeux ou difficile à lire.
C'est tout le contraire, il n'y a aucune longueur.

L'histoire est passionnante. Je ne veux pas révéler l'intrigue car elle fait tout l'intérêt du livre et je suis heureux de ne pas l'avoir connue en avance.

Le livre présente dans les premiers chapitres quelques personnages qui ne se connaissent pas, tous complètement différents les uns des autres.
Vers le milieu du livre, le lecteur comprend où l'intrigue veut nous mener.
adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
dark mysterious slow-paced