A review by angeliki_kar
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

The “Birthday Party” takes place during a nightmarish evening in a small hamlet in the north of France. The book centres on the Bergognes family; Patrice a farmer, Marion his wife and their daughter Ida.  They have only one neighbour, Christine, a Parisian painter who has come to seek calm in the countryside, with her dog Raja. The family life of the Bergones is not as idyllic as it seems. Marion doesn't seem so happy living in the hamlet with Patrice and Patrice in turn copes with their marriage problems by sometimes visiting a brothel in a neighbouring town. The story begins one afternoon while Ida, Patrice and Christine are preparing Marion's surprise birthday party; Raja mysteriously disappears and three strangers start prowling around the hamlet.

What makes this book special is the tension that is built within the story. The reader never relaxes, during the Marion’s “birthday dinner” secrets surface and tensions keep rising. Every character is dissected; their feelings, their past, their intentions and their relationships.The author makes us wonder how much we really know about the past of the people we live with. A psychological thriller that allows the reader to breathe only when they reach the last page. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and Mauvignier’s writing style is beautiful! The only thing I found a bit challenging was the pace which was quite slow for me - but the pace really amplifies the tension in the book so it actually works to the story’s advantage.

Definitely, a must read for people who love a slow burn thriller!

Advanced reading copy of “The Birthday Party” provided by NetGalley and Fitzcarraldo Editions in exchange of an honest review

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