IThere are no people without a story… This is the “subtitle” of Valérie Perrin’s latest novel, printed on the red band that covers the cover of Tata. And indeed, if there is one thing that Valérie Perrin shows us from book to book, it is that there are no people without a story. Or rather that all people’s stories are beautiful to see and tell. Valérie Perrin seizes the ordinary to draw us into novels that are unassuming and yet captivate us. Her characters are not heroes or heroines but they are magnetic… From page to page, she recounts their daily lives with finesse, describes their emotions with sensitivity and weaves an invisible web that connects us to them. We are far from the thriller or the detective story and yet, it is difficult to stop in the middle of her not so banal stories.
“Colette is dead again”
With TataValérie Perrin delivers a long novel (640 pages all the same, it’s increasingly rare) on the “uneventful” life of Colette, a shoemaker in Gueugnon. When Agnès learns of her aunt’s death, she doesn’t understand because Colette was already buried three years ago! A renowned director, in the midst of depression after her divorce, Agnès will return to this town where, as a child, she spent all her holidays, near this somewhat distant aunt, never demonstrative with her feelings except when it came to football… Reconnecting with her teenage friends, she will set off in search of the truth, rediscovering this woman she thought she knew. As a legacy: a suitcase full of audio cassettes recorded by Colette. Past and present intertwine to reveal a difficult life and above all well-kept secrets. By stirring up the past too much, the destinies of each will inevitably be shaken…
Intertwined stories
Valérie Perrin has once again written a novel that is as gripping as it is thrilling. Slipping plots that turn the destinies of her characters upside down. From funny anecdotes to tragedies, her ordinary stories, disarming in their simplicity, become extraordinary each time through the power of the story. This slightly surly, silent and secretive aunt will gradually win our hearts like all the characters in this story. Because there are no real secondary characters in this novel by Valérie Perrin, each destiny has its place, its importance and touches the reader. It is better to like stories that intertwine, some might get lost in them. But if you liked the sweetness of “Les Oubliés du dimanche” her first novel or the masterful plot of “Changer l’eau des fleurs” her biggest success in bookstores, you will not be able to resist this Tata.
Tata, Valérie Perrin, Albin Michel, 640 pages, €23.90
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