Scan barcode
A review by snoakes7001
The Latecomer by Dimitri Verhulst
5.0
How marvellous it is to discover a truly fabulous author you've never heard of before.
A chance encounter on Twitter gave me the opportunity to land an advance copy of the English translation of this (out in March) because I liked the cover (yeah, I'm shallow and superficial - so what?).
It really is a cracking read - a bittersweet portrait of ageing, dementia and the care of the elderly.
Désiré Cordier has had enough of family life, particularly of being hen-pecked by his wife Monique, and so he hatches a plan to escape - by simulating dementia. His story of how he hoodwinks everyone to get his wish to end his days living quietly in a care home is both wryly amusing and tender.
I'm struggling to think of any books to compare it to, but if you like subtle character-driven comedies (like TV's The Detectorists) then this could well be right up your street.
It'll probably be one of my books of the year and I now want to read everything else by Dimitri Verhulst that's been translated into English.
A chance encounter on Twitter gave me the opportunity to land an advance copy of the English translation of this (out in March) because I liked the cover (yeah, I'm shallow and superficial - so what?).
It really is a cracking read - a bittersweet portrait of ageing, dementia and the care of the elderly.
Désiré Cordier has had enough of family life, particularly of being hen-pecked by his wife Monique, and so he hatches a plan to escape - by simulating dementia. His story of how he hoodwinks everyone to get his wish to end his days living quietly in a care home is both wryly amusing and tender.
I'm struggling to think of any books to compare it to, but if you like subtle character-driven comedies (like TV's The Detectorists) then this could well be right up your street.
It'll probably be one of my books of the year and I now want to read everything else by Dimitri Verhulst that's been translated into English.