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tommooney's review against another edition
4.0
Ho. Ly. Shit.
Even by Garnier's standards, this goes to some places I never dreamed it would. Hilarious, horrifying, depraved and brilliant.
Even by Garnier's standards, this goes to some places I never dreamed it would. Hilarious, horrifying, depraved and brilliant.
rhirhireader's review
4.0
ooooh. Ok! I went into this little novella blind. Its the best way I think. It felt like I read it for 5 minutes, but learnt so much. So Marc is a lost soul, he's given up on life as he knows it. He ups, and leaves. Taking with him his odd little cat... and even odder' daughter Anne. They embark on a rather strange journey, and come to a shocking and blunt end to their adventure. This story is told with a sharp tongue, I loved the quick and short narrative but it did leave me wanting so much more! Witty and uncrontrolable language that Made me read the lines twice at times. Enjoyed it! A must read for anyone wanting something quirky and different. Thank you @gallicbooks for my gifted copy. Once again, Iv come across something unique....
silverliningsandpages's review
4.0
2020 seems to be the year for me to read more translated fiction, and I’ve really enjoyed delving into books I wouldn’t have discovered but for bookstagram.
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A Long Way Off by Pascal Garnier is a story that I’m still thinking about, weeks after reading. The translation by Emily Boyce is wonderful.
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Marc longs to travel somewhere remote, so abandons his partner, he takes his cat and grown up daughter Anne (away from her high security residential home), on a road trip down to the south of France. This odd trio leave a trail of destruction and mysterious disappearances in their wake.
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This quirky novella is for anyone who is in the mood for reading about opportunistic adults behaving badly.
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A Long Way Off by Pascal Garnier is a story that I’m still thinking about, weeks after reading. The translation by Emily Boyce is wonderful.
.
Marc longs to travel somewhere remote, so abandons his partner, he takes his cat and grown up daughter Anne (away from her high security residential home), on a road trip down to the south of France. This odd trio leave a trail of destruction and mysterious disappearances in their wake.
.
This quirky novella is for anyone who is in the mood for reading about opportunistic adults behaving badly.
tonstantweader's review against another edition
3.0
A Long Way Off is a short noir picaresque of sorts from French writer Pascal Garnier. It tells the story of Marc who is married happily enough to Chloe, his second wife. He’s feeling a bit out of sorts with the world and get a cat without really knowing why. Then, he goes to visit his daughter, Anne, who is in an in-patient institution though we don’t know why. She seems smart enough.
In what seems like a mix of mid-life crisis and a belated desire to make up to Anne for his detached and neglectful parenting, he springs her from the institution for a day trip to the shore. This begins their journey through France and the misadventures along with the way.
A Long Way Off is humorous and bizarre. There is quite a bit of violence, but it is inferred, not witnessed by March so not witnessed by the reader. There is something tragically comic in Anne’s blatant contempt for her father and his witless desire to please her even as he’s coming to realize she is doing more than touring France with him. It’s a short book, a mere 124 pages, and Garnier effectively draws us in. However, while it does seem as though Garnier is being delicate by having all the violence out of our sight, he more than makes up for it in a truly disturbing scene near the end. It is disturbing enough I cannot freely recommend this book to anyone. Yes, it’s really good for most of the book, it’s sly, it’s humorous; it sucks you in. But honestly, in the end, I was disappointed.
A Long Way Off will be released on March 26th. I received an ARC of A Long Way Off from the publisher through LibraryThing.
A Long Way Off at Gallic Books | Belgravia Books
Pascal Garnier author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/03/21/a-long-way-off-by-pascal-garnier/
In what seems like a mix of mid-life crisis and a belated desire to make up to Anne for his detached and neglectful parenting, he springs her from the institution for a day trip to the shore. This begins their journey through France and the misadventures along with the way.
A Long Way Off is humorous and bizarre. There is quite a bit of violence, but it is inferred, not witnessed by March so not witnessed by the reader. There is something tragically comic in Anne’s blatant contempt for her father and his witless desire to please her even as he’s coming to realize she is doing more than touring France with him. It’s a short book, a mere 124 pages, and Garnier effectively draws us in. However, while it does seem as though Garnier is being delicate by having all the violence out of our sight, he more than makes up for it in a truly disturbing scene near the end. It is disturbing enough I cannot freely recommend this book to anyone. Yes, it’s really good for most of the book, it’s sly, it’s humorous; it sucks you in. But honestly, in the end, I was disappointed.
A Long Way Off will be released on March 26th. I received an ARC of A Long Way Off from the publisher through LibraryThing.
A Long Way Off at Gallic Books | Belgravia Books
Pascal Garnier author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/03/21/a-long-way-off-by-pascal-garnier/
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