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A review by littleredhat
Tintin in the New World by Frederic Tuten, Paul La Farge
2.0
There's a quotation on the back of my edition from The Times, which sums up this book's premise quite well:
"Frederic Tuten grabs Tintin by his quiff, yanks him out of his celibacy, life and innocence and drops him into sex, death, and experience…"
The book is controversial - and in some cases, outright despised - among Tintin fans for its portrayal of their beloved reporter hero. The book's title is not only a reference to its South American setting, but the protagnist's state of mind. Having long since dwelled in the realm of fanfiction and seen how certain writers warp other beloved characters, this wasn't a massive concern for me, but I have learnt the skill of separating the author's original creation from the fanon one in my head. If you are a big Tintin fan who's curious about this work and really don't like the idea of a more adult portrayal, you may want to mentally distance Hergé's Tintin from Tuten's before you pick this up.
I also knew up front that this book wasn't a Hergé story (although it was presumably published with his or the estate's blessing), but an avant-garde philosophical novel. All the same, far too much of the book was devoted to the discussion of ideas - society and its political structures, the importance and nature of art, and human frailties, among others - for my personal taste, due to the absence of any major plot. I found myself skimming paragraphs on more than one occasion.
That being said, there were a couple of standout moments. One chapter is devoted to a dream wherein Tintin lives out an entire lifetime at Marlinspike with his new love. This was beautifully written, and would arguably make an excellent short story on its own. There were also one or two ideas or motifs that did get me pondering, like Tintin's presumably eternal youth being linked to his innocence, and the suggestion that the letter sent to Tintin that allows him to "Follow now [his] destined but alterable track" as being sent by Hergé himself - a notion I didn't find too far-fetched, given that Hergé did write at least one public letter to his creation during his lifetime.
Would I have read this if it didn't feature Tintin as a character? Highly unlikely. Would I read it again? Probably not, except maybe to gloss over the dream chapter once more. Would I recommend it? If you like philosophical reads, then perhaps, but if it's a classic Tintin adventure you're after, stick with Hergé.
"Frederic Tuten grabs Tintin by his quiff, yanks him out of his celibacy, life and innocence and drops him into sex, death, and experience…"
The book is controversial - and in some cases, outright despised - among Tintin fans for its portrayal of their beloved reporter hero. The book's title is not only a reference to its South American setting, but the protagnist's state of mind. Having long since dwelled in the realm of fanfiction and seen how certain writers warp other beloved characters, this wasn't a massive concern for me, but I have learnt the skill of separating the author's original creation from the fanon one in my head. If you are a big Tintin fan who's curious about this work and really don't like the idea of a more adult portrayal, you may want to mentally distance Hergé's Tintin from Tuten's before you pick this up.
I also knew up front that this book wasn't a Hergé story (although it was presumably published with his or the estate's blessing), but an avant-garde philosophical novel. All the same, far too much of the book was devoted to the discussion of ideas - society and its political structures, the importance and nature of art, and human frailties, among others - for my personal taste, due to the absence of any major plot. I found myself skimming paragraphs on more than one occasion.
That being said, there were a couple of standout moments. One chapter is devoted to a dream wherein Tintin lives out an entire lifetime at Marlinspike with his new love. This was beautifully written, and would arguably make an excellent short story on its own. There were also one or two ideas or motifs that did get me pondering, like Tintin's presumably eternal youth being linked to his innocence, and the suggestion that the letter sent to Tintin that allows him to "Follow now [his] destined but alterable track" as being sent by Hergé himself - a notion I didn't find too far-fetched, given that Hergé did write at least one public letter to his creation during his lifetime.
Would I have read this if it didn't feature Tintin as a character? Highly unlikely. Would I read it again? Probably not, except maybe to gloss over the dream chapter once more. Would I recommend it? If you like philosophical reads, then perhaps, but if it's a classic Tintin adventure you're after, stick with Hergé.