After the fever of the major literary prizes, here is a selection of novels which caught our attention by the themes addressed and/or their styles.
“The Water Pact” the fascinating fresco by Abraham Verghese
After The door of tears, Abraham Verghese returns with a novel of rare ambition. The water pact (Flammarion) is a romantic fresco, a family saga, which takes us to India at the beginning of the last century. A young girl is going to experience the saddest day of her life. Then it could only get better. She marries a wealthy man in his forties. Throughout his journey, we witness the upheavals of his daily life, his journey intimately linked to that of his country. One of Abraham Verghese's strengths, in addition to his extremely effective writing, is to capture the reader's attention from the first pages and never let go. We are both totally disorientated and completely fascinated by this series of paintings of an Indian society in the making. Impressive.
(The water pact, Abraham Verghese, translated by Paul Matthieu, Flammarion, 827 pages, 24,90 euros)
“All the noise of Guéliz”: Ruben Barrouk in search of memory in Marrakech
Once upon a time there was a noise in Guéliz. Ruben Barrouk signs, at the age of 27, a first novel of rare elegance and great maturity. In 2022, the young author returns with his mother to Marrakech to join his grandmother who was complaining of hearing an incessant and invasive noise. Written like a tale, All the noise of Guéliz (editions Albin Michel) speaks of a past that is both recent and millennial, a past that only asks to inhabit the present again. Ruben Barrouk, with great finesse and tenderness, rediscovers his Sephardic family, he is the man who hears the noise, the crash of history and the whisper of the intimate. Because the noise “saved from oblivion” for those who know how to listen. And open your heart. All the noise of Guéliz, subtle and generous.
(All the noise of Guéliz, Ruben Barrouk, Albim Michel, 215 pages, 19.90 euros)
“Life base zone” by Gwenaëlle Aubry: work in progress
Passing in front of a construction site where Algecos stood with signs “ Zone base vie » in Normandy, Gwenaëlle Aubry has an inspiration. She found the title and literary form to speak to the experience of the pandemic. Like Georges Perec, she will be interested in the life instructions of a building. Eight confined characters move around in this building located on a fictional street and in an unnamed town. How do they evolve in their environment ? What is their relationship to the outside world? ? To politics ? In reality ? Behind the writer, we can see the philosopher who extends her work to various territories and explores time and space. The characters come up against a narrowed universe and come face to face with their individuality. Gwenaëlle Aubry's work has a certain political significance. Disturbing.
(Life base area, Gwenaëlle Aubry, Gallimard, 268 pages, 21 euros)
“Forgotten”: JR dos Santos opposes amnesia
It is a little-known part of Portuguese history that we discover with Forgotten (Hervé Chopin editions), an epic novel by JR dos Santos. The writer is interested in the fate of a handful of soldiers in the trenches of Flanders during the Great War. What could have led the young Alfonso, born in the Portuguese countryside, to enlist in the army and find himself in Brest in 1917? ? The young idealist finds himself on the front line, far from everything. About his childhood, his dreams, his ideals… JR dos Santos signs a great popular novel, in the noble sense of the term. Forgotten strives to describe a bygone era with surgical precision. The author strives to make his characters alive, moving in their humanity. Forgotten, a fantastic epic.
(Forgotten, JR dos Santos, translated from Portuguese by Catherine Leterrier, 576 pages, 22.50 euros)
“Red tears on the facade”: Clandestine loves in Tehran
Navid Sinaki immerses us in a closed and merciless universe. Childhood friends, Anjir and Zal, are now adults in love. They both live in Iran, a country where homosexuality is considered a crime. The writer uses language devoid of artifice to narrate an impossible and unconditional love. Impossible for the cause of liberticidal and unconditional laws because Anjir is determined to change sex to live out his love in broad daylight. Is this love shared ? Can he survive adultery ? In his quest for love and identity, Anjir makes several encounters and discoveries, notably the acquaintance of Leyli, a flamboyant and endearing character. The Iranian writer, through a tumultuous relationship, questions otherness, social and romantic relationships in a city that prefers to keep clandestine loves secret. Upsetting.
(The red tears on the facadeNavid Sinaki, translated from English by Sarah Gurcel, Le Bruit du monde, 22 euros)
“The Priest and the Poacher” by Benjamin Meyers: the race for life
There is form and content. Benjamin Meyers tells a gripping story with short, comma-free sentences, as if seized by a vital emergency. And there is an emergency. In this timeless tale, a sixteen-year-old mute girl runs away with a baby that is not hers. She seeks to put a great distance between the Priest and the newborn. Raised in an orphanage, she knows the priest (too) well. A chase begins in which she is the prey. This is happening in the north of England. We think we can guess why she is desperately embarking on this desperate escape and above all we find ourselves hoping to see her succeed. Benjamin Meyers establishes a rhythm worthy of the great noir novels. It is difficult to put the book down until the last page is turned. Bewitching.
(The Priest and the Poacher, Benjamin Meyers, translated from English by Clément Baude, Le Seuil, 288 pages, 23 euros)
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