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raphaliest's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed reading the book, at times funny, sad and just lovable characters. The way it‘s structured you sometimes lose orientation and some chapters are just short bits of conversation like you‘ve been eavesdropping a conversation in a café. It seems to be a collection of little anecdotes, and as a reader you lose touch of the story y as a whole. It felt also too long in the end, at least a 100 pages.
leonkoenig's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
toxic masculinity but make it ✨french✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Death
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Nothing much happens in this book, and while I often really enjoy books that are so character driven, I think the characterization in this one wasn’t quite strong enough to make me fall in love with it. Perhaps it was the translation, but I think more likely it was the characters themselves. I was curious about their stories and invested enough to stay up reading, but I don’t feel like I loved it. Indeed, I think I am liable to forget elements of it quite quickly.
So for my own recollection, here’s a quick summary of the standout moments:
We are introduced to Paulette at the very beginning of the novel as an elderly woman who has started to struggle to remember how to take care of her garden and herself. Her neighbor and friend, Yvonne, is determined to get her instituted at a retirement home, and she enlists vagabond grandson Franck to contribute his own pressure. Franck, for his part, loves his grandmother (who raised him) very much, but he struggles to show it, squeezing in visits on his day off from his very busy schedule as a chef in a restaurant and hesitant to show emotion. However, Franck is also resistant to the idea of moving his grandmother out of the house she loves and that he grew up in. These emotions are further compounded by the change in his living arrangements due to the choices of the other two protagonists.
Camille is a waif. She works as an overnight cleaning lady and rarely (and barely) eats, particularly after interactions with her mother, whose depressive impulses have long made her anxious and miserable. Having entered into something of a depressive episode herself, Camille has lately stopped drawing and socializing, and she has moved into a flat owned by a family friend—up seven flights of stairs, under the roof, and absolutely freezing. Camille is drawn to the strange, stuttering character dressed in the clothing of the nobility who she encounters on the stairs, and they strike up a friendship that neither one is quite certain of. However, when Camille falls ill and disappears for several, Philibert finds himself obligated to check on her. Discovering her nearly unconscious and shivering, he carries her down the stairs to the apartment he shares (incidentally) with Franck. As Camille convalesces, both men are drawn to her, and it initiates a friendship that none of the three had been expecting. All socially awkward, their interactions are twinged with strangeness and tension, but the bonds they form are strong and meaningful. Eventually, Camille and Franck develop their own emotional connection through cooking, arguing, and drawing.
Camille creates a plan to resolve Franck’s struggles with his grandmother by bringing her to live with them, which adds life and levity to all of their relationships, even as her health deteriorates, and the quartet travel to Tours for the final (somewhat saccharine) section of the novel.
So for my own recollection, here’s a quick summary of the standout moments:
We are introduced to Paulette at the very beginning of the novel as an elderly woman who has started to struggle to remember how to take care of her garden and herself. Her neighbor and friend, Yvonne, is determined to get her instituted at a retirement home, and she enlists vagabond grandson Franck to contribute his own pressure. Franck, for his part, loves his grandmother (who raised him) very much, but he struggles to show it, squeezing in visits on his day off from his very busy schedule as a chef in a restaurant and hesitant to show emotion. However, Franck is also resistant to the idea of moving his grandmother out of the house she loves and that he grew up in. These emotions are further compounded by the change in his living arrangements due to the choices of the other two protagonists.
Camille is a waif. She works as an overnight cleaning lady and rarely (and barely) eats, particularly after interactions with her mother, whose depressive impulses have long made her anxious and miserable. Having entered into something of a depressive episode herself, Camille has lately stopped drawing and socializing, and she has moved into a flat owned by a family friend—up seven flights of stairs, under the roof, and absolutely freezing. Camille is drawn to the strange, stuttering character dressed in the clothing of the nobility who she encounters on the stairs, and they strike up a friendship that neither one is quite certain of. However, when Camille falls ill and disappears for several, Philibert finds himself obligated to check on her. Discovering her nearly unconscious and shivering, he carries her down the stairs to the apartment he shares (incidentally) with Franck. As Camille convalesces, both men are drawn to her, and it initiates a friendship that none of the three had been expecting. All socially awkward, their interactions are twinged with strangeness and tension, but the bonds they form are strong and meaningful. Eventually, Camille and Franck develop their own emotional connection through cooking, arguing, and drawing.
Camille creates a plan to resolve Franck’s struggles with his grandmother by bringing her to live with them, which adds life and levity to all of their relationships, even as her health deteriorates, and the quartet travel to Tours for the final (somewhat saccharine) section of the novel.
nataliaoliver10's review against another edition
5.0
Uno de los libros más bonitos que he leído en toda mi vida (por no decir el más bonito). Anna Gavalda va perfilando unos personajes de una manera tan íntima que acabas enamorándote de ellos y de su historia.
aimee_'s review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There were some things that didn’t sit right with me, but the story was nice and it was tied up nicely at the end. The narration was a bit weird but that may be due to it being translated from French. Either way, I recommend.
beanusminimus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lcolium's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes I felt like the translation was a little awkward but overall I became attached to the characters and found the story compelling
dina_b's review against another edition
4.0
L'histoire de quatre âmes brisés et souffrantes qui se rencontrent et se aident, formant une famille choisie par eux-mêmes. Chacun porte son passés malheureux sur le dos, ensemble ils essaient de changer leur futur et de guérir leurs douleurs, ensemble, c'est tout. J'ai aimé cette histoire et ses personnages, principalement Camille et Philibert, une histoire émouvante et simple, mais aussi bouleversante. Un pavé de 574 pages qui ce li d'une bouffé.