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A review by curiousreader
Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi
Beside the Sea is the story of a mother and her two sons, off on a trip to a small unremarkable town located near the sea. As the book opens, we can see hints at the mother having suffered from something or someone; has she gone through some psychosis that is still shaping her actions and being, has she been the victim of domestic abuse? It’s never explicitly said, although the frequent references to both social workers and psychiatrist meetings confirms that something has gone wrong in this woman’s life; and that this trip is possibly her running away from it all, from failures or fears, from other people or some part of herself. Along with her, she has her two boys; both young and unsure about the reasons for the trip or what’s to come in their futures. They seem to be sensing the slow disintegrating of their mother, but are unable to do anything about it.
The book follows a short period of time, where these three characters move around in the hotel with the six floors - their hotelroom on top, and walk around in the town, visit the raging sea and go to the local fun-fair. Ultimately this book mostly takes place in the mind of the mother though, her thoughts bouncing off of the things she sees - other people’s happiness and wealth or the moonlight through the room’s window; she looks back at her life and we see glimpses of it, while also getting hints on her future or what is about to happen.
It’s a tremendously sad book in the end, not just the way it pans out but all of it. It’s about the failure of being what you think you’re supposed to be, or failing your loved ones, being unable to protect the people whom you most cherish. All in all the most prominent theme I suppose is helplessness which gives the book an almost claustrophobic feeling, an entrapment that in the end leaves you feeling as sad as the mother on the last page.
The book follows a short period of time, where these three characters move around in the hotel with the six floors - their hotelroom on top, and walk around in the town, visit the raging sea and go to the local fun-fair. Ultimately this book mostly takes place in the mind of the mother though, her thoughts bouncing off of the things she sees - other people’s happiness and wealth or the moonlight through the room’s window; she looks back at her life and we see glimpses of it, while also getting hints on her future or what is about to happen.
It’s a tremendously sad book in the end, not just the way it pans out but all of it. It’s about the failure of being what you think you’re supposed to be, or failing your loved ones, being unable to protect the people whom you most cherish. All in all the most prominent theme I suppose is helplessness which gives the book an almost claustrophobic feeling, an entrapment that in the end leaves you feeling as sad as the mother on the last page.