I thoroughly enjoyed C’est La Vie; Garnier’s subversive wit can have you gasping at the irreverence but also guffawing at the audacity. So I was excited to read another of his ‘mid life crises’ books, which is what I like to call them. This story is somehow more poignant, more emotional. Marc is in his sixties, he has a partner and a grown up daughter who lives in an institution. We are never told why. Along the way he acquires a cat and with his daughter embarks upon a spontaneous road trip.
It’s not a usual kind of road trip but you wouldn’t expect that with Garnier at the wheel! I guess it begins normally enough but soon spirals into an almost surreal trip, double entendre intended. It’s as if the trip is a metaphor for Marc’s life where he needs to come off the map to find himself and examine his relationship with his daughter.
It’s one of those books where at some points you just can’t believe what you’re reading and you flick back to read again just in case you’ve lost the plot, literally almost! I sometimes wonder if the intention is to shock, to push the reader out of their comfort zone? Some of the events are off colour, yet the absurdity just suckers you in. I’m always amazed at how much punch Garnier achieves in such a slim volume. Yet you never have the sense of a rushed or hurried narrative.
His two main characters Marc and Anne are not typical. As the book progresses it becomes clear that Marc really doesn’t know his daughter as well as he might have believed he did. Certainly her moral compass seems awry to put it mildly. and I have to put it mildly for I do not wish to give anything away! At one point I did fear for his safety let alone his sanity! The there is Chloe, Marc’s partner, who has not been informed of his whereabouts and you feel for the poor lady wondering what the hell is going on.
Overall it remains an entertaining and capricious read. My thanks to Gallic Books for a copy.
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