Jean-Philippe BlondelRecensioni

*Happy Publication Day*
July 11, 2023

“It’s other people who captivate me. All the people my age, making their way, fearful or bold, convinced they’ve been through the most intense time in their life during these various lockdowns, and that they’re rediscovering a world that they’d taken for granted. I find them touching, and I envy them as well. Though you might not think it, I’d like to join in the dance again, too, but I’ve forgotten the steps.”

After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives in the post-pandemic era. After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives. Set in a classic café in the French provinces, Le Tom's, during current times, over the course of a single day, we are privy to the innermost thoughts of its patrons and the waiters and owners. We follow their most private thoughts as they ponder over how their lives have changed, the significant events and people they have left behind, how they are reframing their hopes and dreams, and how they perceive themselves, others and life in general after months of uncertainty and stagnancy.

Two estranged friends, one of whom is now an established writer and once harbored attraction for the other, meet after almost a lifetime with their own share of regrets and resentments. A mother of two grown-up children sits with her son and shares her decision to finally leave her family and embark on the life she always dreamed of. A waiter ponders his choice to move on and spread his wings. A woman encounters a former boyfriend from decades ago. Both the new owner and previous owner of the café reflect on events that led them to the present moment and concerns about the future. In the midst of it sits a young woman, who returned home during the pandemic and is yet to move on. She regularly visits the café, sits at the back and tries to capture life in the café in her sketches. Few of these characters interact with one another; some remain lost in their own thoughts or within their own circle. But the common element in all of their thoughts and interactions is how the past eighteen months have compelled them to reevaluate their priorities.

Café Unfiltered by Jean –Phillippe Blondel (translated by Alison Anderson) is a beautiful, quiet and intimate novel - one that inspires pause and reflection. Each of these characters is very well-written. The author does not go into the upsetting details of the pandemic but focuses on the post-pandemic period when life was slowly returning to normal, though the threat of newer threads of the virus was looming large which resulted in planning for the future in a more guarded, tentative and reserved manner. The characters in this novel are real and relatable and as we follow their stories, we feel invested in their lives and hope that things work out for them. The writing is crisp and concise, yet able to convey the thoughts and emotions of the characters eloquently. Overall, this is a slow-paced, contemplative novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Many thanks to author Jean –Phillippe Blondel and publisher New Vessel Press for granting access to a digital review copy of this novel via Edelweiss . All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Engaging and quite charming set piece from the author of Exposed and The 6:41 to Paris. Table by table, from the early breakfast customers to the following dawn, we meet the denizens of Le Tom's, a café in a middle-sized French provincial town. In each chapter, the table's occupant describes themselves, who they are, what they might be doing there that day - from a seemingly rootless young woman who sits in a booth and sketches all day, to a middle-aged man waiting to meet an old friend from his youth about whom he has long had conflicted feelings, a self-regarding young man meeting his rather dreary old mother, the surly bar man. As the day progresses, the young man leaves in a huff and we get to hear his mother's side of things; the man visiting his old friend comes with a poignant and reflective agenda of his own; the current owner of the cafe (who seems to be under the thumb of the surly barman); and finally, the aging woman who used to own the place. Most of them at some point suspect the young woman artist might be drawing them - but is she? They begin to talk to each other, eliciting scraps of each other's stories, plans, and possibilities.

It's an affectionate portrait of that irreplaceable French institution, the café. Blondel has expanded from his previous forays into the interior monologues and musings of individuals into a polyphonic tale. Some sections are more effective than others, but their stories interweave skillfully enough that more than once, I went back to a previous chapter to find the whispers of another perspective were indeed there. What appeared to be animosity is actually a complicated fondness and protectiveness; one entrapment into isolation grew from way too much entanglement; another's selfishness has blinded them to someone else's pain. Blondel's humanity and basic kindness redeems people's failings, and leaves you wishing you had a Le Tom's in your neighborhood.

The people you meet at a French café. The book takes place over 24 hours, in which we meet several characters. Some we get just a slice of story and others we get the whole cake. A very pleasant read. It is a nice palate cleanser.

My first book by Blondel, and it will not be my last! A short but interesting book about life, relationships, and aging. The main character reminds me much of myself, he is older and facing the choices he has made, both in his personal and professional life. He is in the midst of a meet-up with a one-time student of his, who is now a successful artist, and who also faces his own life-challenges and choices, even though still young. The book is well written and very true to life, showing that not all of your life choices are made by you, but thrust upon you.

Another very good book by Blondel (I recently read "Exposed"), this one about two one-time lovers stuck next to each other on a train, pretending not to notice each other. The relationship is 27 years in the past, and ended badly to the female character. The book alternates between the two characters' viewpoints, as they think about their past together and separately, as well as their current life situations. I like the fact that the female lead, once rather timid, is now very successful and forceful, and the one-time golden boy is now a failure, both professionally and personally. Well written and very interesting, we need more of Blondel's books translated into English!

Café’ Unfiltered is more of an introspective about an assortment of customers who frequent a café’ in France over a period of 24 hours. The world is just emerging from the stringent Covid regulations and they are cautiously re-entering a period of more freedom which allows going to public places and being around small groups.

This is not a book for someone looking for a traditional story. It is the fictional stories of individuals who share a part of their lives with you, the reader. The book is well written and there was no place where I felt that this English translation was awkward.

The author does a wonderful job of reaching into the hearts and minds of his characters and making them come to life. My only issue was that because the book chapters are slotted behind specific progressive time frames, it was sometimes difficult for me to immediately pick up the continuation of an individual’s story when moving forward to the next time segment.

I received an advance copy through the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing with no promise made of a positive review.

I was drawn into this story almost instantly. I am also an observer and the themes here felt universal. The setting is modern day and the COVID world is something we can all relate to. I really enjoyed this book. I was rooting for Chloe and Fabrice almost immediately as the heroes of the story. Of course it's the quiet ones that shake things up.
There was one bit about the woman whose fiancé went to Australia... I didn't see how that fit into the rest of the narrative. Aside from that it all felt very interconnected. It went by way too fast for me. I could have kept reading.

"Stop apologizing, Fabrice. I've always liked listening to other people. It relaxes me."

"That's also my favorite activity. So, as it happens, running a cafe is ideal."

I received this as an ARC. I love cafes (could you tell?), and French cafes like this one are special. When a character asks us at the end whether we'd like to join her there, my answer was a resounding yes.

We get to meet the shy owner, Fabrice, and the amiable former owner, Jocelyn, and Chloe, the mysterious artist who sits in the back and sketches customers, and Fabrice's friend from childhood Jose, who assists him at the cafe, along with several others entwined with their lives or otherwise associated with the cafe. Blondel manages to seamlessly weave their stories together, some of which contain substantial surprises. Life, ah, sweet, unpredictable life. I happily stayed at this cafe until closing, and I'd love to spend more time there.

I am an avid reader, and like most avid readers, we are willing to try all genres, searching for that feeling of connection to characters or story or finding a work that truly touches us and evokes all of the emotions. I am partial to fiction, historical-fiction, mystery and suspense, but I have found many quiet, unassuming, thoughtful, sparsely-written works that have reached me in unexpected, but in the very best of ways. Cafe Unfiltered by Jean-Philippe Blondel (Author), translated by Alison Anderson, is one of these books. It is a post-pandemic novel, less focused upon the pandemic, more about its aftermath and the toll it has taken. Over a 24 hour period patrons meet at the cafe and the reader gets to share in their private thoughts and feelings. They reflect on their lives prior to the isolation of COVID and how it has changed them and their plans to move forward. If you are looking for action and suspense, this is not the book for you. But if you appreciate a reflective, thought-provoking story, then this is one you might like to try.

During 24 hours in the life of a French cafe, various people come in after a long period of being confined by Covid. Each is presented one at a time, and soon the reader understands that all are in some way known to each other or some of the others. We learn a bit of their history, why they are here, and what is next in their lives. It's interesting to see how much a person can glean from short periods of time either spent with another person or of observing them. The format seems unique to me. It is well written. Our subjects are both customers and staff of the cafe.

This set of people could be any set of people anywhere except for the delicious small details that define a place. I've listened while in small restaurants in small towns in America, and it's fascinating! Try it!

I enjoyed the book immensely. It's very tightly written. The book draws you into a French cafe for one day and into the lives of people in the cafe. Cleverly plotted, you feel like you're in the midst of the gossip. The characters are very likeable, and the timing of the setting is perfect - it's a cafe that has survived the pandemic and the characters are finding their way back (in more ways than one) into a post-pandemic routine. It's light and quick reading - a nice book to take for a summer vacation read.

Der Autor erzählt von seinem einsamen Jahr in einer Vorbereitungsklasse für die Elitehochschulen Frankreichs. Das elitäre System ist für Victor, der aus einer einfachen Familie stammt, zwar nicht intellektuell, aber doch sozial ausschließend. Der einzige Mensch, mit dem er sich befreunden möchte, Matthieu, nimmt sich just an dem Tag das Leben, an dem Victor ihn zu seinem Geburtstag einladen möchte.
Nach dem Tod seines Freundes erlangt Vicor eine Art Exotenstatus, lernt andere kennen, nicht zuletzt auch den Vater Matthieus. Am Ende geht er seinen Weg und kehrt der Eliteschule und -gesellschaft den Rücken.½

Another delightful offering from New Vessel Press. I loved Blondel's second novel, [b: Exposed|8320987|Exposed|Kimberly Marcus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320440852l/8320987._SY75_.jpg|13170426], so much I immediately sought this one out.

6:41 is similar, as a ruminative exploration inside the minds of two main characters, who have met in the past and re-encounter each other years later. Cecile and Philippe had been lovers twenty-seven years before, and it ended badly. The only empty seat in a crowded morning commuter train is beside Cecile, and Philippe sits down. They recognize each other, but do not acknowledge the fact, each absorbed in their own memory of their history with each other, and since. Cecile, once a plain, undistinguished, but sharp and smart girl, is now a chic, stylish, CEO of a thriving cosmetic business; Philippe was once a handsome, feckless young man, and is now a morose, divorced, paunchy television salesman. How they have changed! For the better? Maybe. Maybe not. And how did their short-lived love affair steer them into the courses they have chosen, or that they have yielded to? Will they speak? Can there be repentance, forgiveness, hope, dismissal?

No one knows if this will be a good thing.

While I think I liked Exposed better, this one is staying with me, and I'm still thinking about Cecile and Philippe. And I am going to see if I can get these two books in the original French, for as smoothly precise as the translation seems to be, I am enticed to see how they read as they were written by the gifted Blondel.

I read this in one sitting. Thank heaven for a writer who tells the story he wants to tell, in as many words as he feels is necessary, and a publisher who isn't afraid to publish it that way. I admire New Vessel Press for providing us Anglophones with this lovely piece of work.

Louis Claret is an aging schoolteacher, divorced, attached - if awkwardly - to his two adult daughters and ex-wife. An unexpected invitation to an art exhibit brings him back in touch with a student from decades ago, one he only vaguely remembers, who is now a rising star as a painter. The two men cautiously reconnect, as the painter asks to paint the older man's portrait - and a slow, hesitant intimacy develops. The painter's exploration of the teacher leads the teacher to rediscover aspects of himself he had avoided, suppressed or forgotten - both traumatic and joyous. The painter exposes himself as well, groping along a path toward a leap forward in his art, and revealing just how much the teacher had meant to him years ago.

A deeply poignant and thoughtful exploration of aging, memory, love, art, teaching, and connection.

Ce lundi matin, hasard des voyages, Cécile et Philippe se retrouve assis côte à côte dans le train Troyes-Paris. Plus de vingt ans auparavant ils ont été amants, mais feignent de ne pas se reconnaître. Ce roman est le monologue intérieur alterné de chacun. Conscience de l’autre et interprétation de son silence, regrets, remords, colère, honte. Une lecture intense, à peine plus longue que le temps du trajet, d’une rare précision d’analyse de la pensée et des sentiments.½

Cécile hat das Wochenende bei den Eltern verbracht. Am Montagmorgen sitzt sie erschöpft im Frühzug und ärgert sich, dass sie nicht doch schon am Vorabend zurück zu Mann und Kind gereist ist. Der Platz neben ihr ist frei, ein Mann setzt sich. Cécile erkennt ihn sofort: Philippe Leduc. Auch Philippe hat Cécile gleich erkannt. Doch sie schweigen geschockt. Beide. Jeder für sich erinnern sich Cécile und Philippe in den eineinhalb Stunden bis Paris, wie verliebt sie vor dreißig Jahren waren, als sie zusammen ein romantisches Wochenende in London verbringen wollten und dort alles aus den Fugen geriet. Je näher der Gare de l’Est kommt, desto mehr will man wissen: Endet die Reise dort, oder gibt es ein nächstes Mal?

Exposure. What does the word mean to you? Is it physical? Emotional? Is it purely public or can a person be exposed to themselves? Is exposure positive or negative? We speak of exposing a person's character or their lies. Flashers expose their bodies. But then there's the sense of exposure within photography. Different exposures lead to different final images. Can a person, a thing, an action be partially exposed and still be true? Jean-Philippe Blondel is playing with many different ideas of exposure and their impact in his novel Exposed.

Louis Claret is an English teacher in France. He's invited to a gallery showing when one of his former pupils, now a well known painter, has a retrospective and the novel opens with him reflecting on the fact that he's lost his passion for teaching and he's uncertain why he was included on the guest list for the event. When he meets his student, Alexandre Laudin, again they speak of nothing of any consequence and Claret's life continues on as it always has. But then Laudin gets in touch with him and the two kindle an odd sort of friendship, a kind of reliance on each other. And Laudin asks his former teacher to model for a planned triptych, not just to pose for a conventional portrait but to pose nude. This request exposes Louis not only in a physical sense but it exposes him emotionally too as he considers the request.

The novel is not sexual, exactly. The frisson is more in the lure of possibility and of seeing oneself (hopefully) admired through the eyes of another. It is in the potential for Laudin to uncover the essence of his old teacher, of Claret baring not just his flesh but his soul. The novel is narrated by Louis and it is deeply meditative and introspective. There are no big plot movements, only small events in the quiet reckoning Louis makes of his life in late middle age. He weaves the instances of his childhood, his now failed marriage, and his relationship with his adult daughters into the experience of being Laudin's subject and perhaps even his friend. There is an elegiac tone to the novel and Louis' life, as he exposes his past, has a sort of torpor to it. It is a subtle, ambiguous novel, one where the meaning, the art is continually exposed, layer by painstaking layer, even after the last page is finished. It is a short novel but one that leaves the reader wondering in the end just what all has, in fact, been exposed. The heart of Claret? Who's to say?½

Le Paris de l’année 1975 est bien différent de celui d’aujourd’hui. La petite communauté du groupe scolaire Denis-Diderot maintient encore l’image de la famille classique et tout marche bien en conformité avec les règles établies depuis toujours. Mais, peu à peu, la façade commence à avoir des fissures, ce sont avant tout les femmes qui commencent à se demander si la vie telle quelle se présente est vraiment ce dont elles rêvaient et celle qu’elles veulent mener. L’introduction de classes mixtes dans l’école alors n’est que le début de changements profonds qui, principalement, circulent autour des femmes.

Jean-Philippe Blondes a créé un microcosme qui – vu du dehors – fonctionne parfaitement et représente un idéal traditionnel. Les familles avec leurs gamins vivent une vie tranquille qui n’est pas perturbée de n’importe quoi. En regardant derrière ce portrait public, une autre image se présente. Les femmes ont le droit de travailler – mais seulement dans la maternelle, être institutrice, ça, c’est bien, mais prof en CM 2, c’est tout à fait autre chose, une tâche pour un homme certainement. Cela ne les empêche pas de rêver et d’imaginer une autre vie.

« On a vécu mai 68, même si on avait déjà la trentaine bien sonné et si on ne comprenait pas toutes les revendications des étudiants. Le monde occidental vit des transformations sociales et sexuelles qui remettent en cause l’ordre établi (...) »

La petite communauté a encore bien de pas à faire, mais c’est le début. Comme les autres livres de Jean-Philippe Blondel, j’ai bien aimé lire celui-ci. C’est avant tout son ton narratif que j’adore. Il y a une légèreté et une gaieté qui permet à l’auteur d’appuyer sur la chanterelle sans être trop dur ou malin. Ainsi, il fait le portrait d’un moment décisif au niveau de la société mais aussi au niveau personnel – c’est bien dans cette année-là que les gamins progressent de l’enfance à l’adolescence, le moment où ils perdent la naïveté et la confiance que tout finira bien.

‘The implacable blue of the sky. The tender green of the leaves. The golden yellow of sunlight. All the nuances. All the alternations – blue, yellow, green, green, yellow, blue. One day I’ll learn the names of colours, because once you master the colours, then you can chase the black away.’

A short, meditative kind of novel; the kind of thing where very little happens, where certain small actions or objects trigger memories and musings. This is not for the car-chasing, thrill a minute reader. What it is, for those who delve into it, is an excellent study of late middle-age disquietude and a complex, evolving friendship between the two main characters.

As Louis Claret approaches his late fifties, this English teacher attends a retrospective art exhibition by Alexandre Laudin, one of his former pupils. They re-connect after a number of years, and Laudin asks the older man if he would pose for him as a model. Over the course of several months the novel slowly unfolds, as Laudin paints first one, then another of what he proposes as a triptych. Interspersed with these moments are Claret’s entries into his newly-started journal, in which he looks back on his failed marriage, his two grown-up daughters, and memories from his earlier life and his travels around Europe. Laudin is a gay man, and there is a subtle undercurrent, perhaps not of sexual tension between the two, but certainly something – which at times seems to both unsettle and excite Claret. As the novel approaches its conclusion there is another journey, which brings Claret full circle to one of his earlier memories in Scotland, and feels something like a small moment of resolution for both men.

The prose is precise, poetic, and the reflections on art, memories and life are deeply affecting:
‘What’s left are sources of light. Memories drawing a path across the earth. Sometimes, one of these coils of memory becomes more luminous than the others. Almost phosphorescent. A glowworm in a graveyard of memories.’

This is a subtle, quiet novel, with an excellent translation of Blondel’s original French by Alison Anderson. Definitely a must for fans of novels that makes you simply enjoy and appreciate the writing as it flows, for those who want a novel of ideas, and for anyone who appreciates fine literature. A strongly recommended 4.5 stars from me.

„Ich werde mir ein Quäntchen schmalzige Wehmut gönnen und die Zärtlichkeit in den Augen tragen, die ich meinem Leben gegenüber empfinde.“ (Zitat Seite 49)

Inhalt:
Vincent ist Franzose, lebt aber mit seiner Frau Susan und den zwei kleinen Töchtern in London, wo er eine erfolgreiche Restaurantkette gegründet hat. Susan fährt mit den Kindern eine Woche zu ihren Eltern und Vincent wird in dieser Woche seine Eltern und seinen Bruder in Frankreich besuchen. Rasch entwickelt sich dieser Besuch zu einer Belastung für alle, besonders für ihn selbst, obwohl er dies vorausgesehen hatte. Er ist nicht sicher, ob er auch seinen besten Freund Etienne treffen soll, mit dem er bis zu seiner Übersiedlung nach London eine Wohnung geteilt hatte. Irgendwie hat er in den Jahren seither nie Zeit gefunden, sich bei Etienne zu melden.

Thema und Genre:
Es ist ein kurzer Roman über Familie, Freundschaft und die Veränderungen und Verantwortung des Erwachsenwerdens. Es geht auch um Flucht aus der konservativen Enge eines Familiengefüges und Ortes, sowie die zeitlos gültige Frage des „Was wäre gewesen, wenn“.

Charaktere:
Als Leser fühlt man mit Vincent, versteht seine Situation, andererseits machen Vincents Vorurteile und Überheblichkeit ihn nicht unbedingt sympathisch. Dennoch ist er ein interessanter Charakter und auch die anderen Protagonisten, besonders sein Bruder Jerome und dessen Frau Celine, überraschen im Lauf dieser wenigen Tage, in denen die Handlung spielt.

Handlung und Schreibstil:
Vincent erzählt in der „Ich-Form“ von dieser Urlaubswoche in seiner früheren Heimat Frankreich, die er längst nicht mehr als Heimat sieht. Durch Susan konnte er nach London übersiedeln, wo sein Leben eine nicht vorhersehbare Wende zum Positiven nahm. Nun wird er nicht nur mit der eigenen Entwicklung konfrontiert, sondern auch mit der seiner Freunde. Daraus ergeben sich einige nicht vorhersehbare Ereignisse für den Protagonisten und somit auch für den Leser. Rückblenden in Form von Erinnerungen vervollständigen das Gesamtbild.
Der Autor schreibt erzählend, leise, mit psychologischer Tiefe und eindringlichen Beschreibungen.

Fazit:
Ein nachdenkliches Buch und die Geschichte, die uns der Autor erzählt, ist komplex und vielschichtig. Einerseits ist es die Bilanz einer Flucht nach vorne, unbequeme Erinnerungen eingeschlossen, andererseits geht es um Entscheidungen, die rückblickend richtig waren, aber ihren Preis hatten.

„Wenn ich die Augen schließe, sehe ich sie wieder vor mir, die nächtlichen Straßen von London, damals in jenem heißen Juli“.“ (Zitat Seite 138)

Inhalt:
Nach einem Wochenend-Besuch bei ihren Eltern sitzt Cécile, 47 Jahre alt und eine erfolgreiche Geschäftsfrau, um 6 Uhr 41 im Frühzug zurück nach Paris. Der Platz neben ihr ist der letzte frei Platz im Waggon und ein Mann setzt sich neben sie. Es ist Philippe Leduc, der Mann, in den sie vor vielen Jahren verliebt war. Bis zu einer gemeinsamen Reise nach London und deren katastrophalem Ende. Siebenundzwanzig Jahre ist das nun her. Soll er sie ansprechen, hat sie ihn erkannt?

Thema und Genre:
In diesem Roman schauen zwei Menschen in Gedanken und unabhängig von einander zurück in ihre Jugend und eine Entscheidung, die sie damals getroffen haben. Beide erinnern sich und fragen sich auch, was wäre gewesen, wenn.

Handlung und Schreibstil:
Der Geschichte spielt im Zeitraum von weniger als zwei Stunden, nur die Länge einer Bahnfahrt. Durch die jeweiligen Gedanken der beiden Protagonisten ergeben sich erklärende Rückblenden in die Vergangenheit. Sie waren erst zwanzig Jahre alt, als ihre Beziehung in London abrupt zu Ende ging. Wir erfahren auch, wie es im Leben von Cécile und Philippe weiterging, wo sie heute stehen. Wobei beider Leben eine andere Entwicklung genommen hatte, als damals zu erwarten war. Die Spannung ergibt sich aus der Frage, ob die beiden doch noch miteinander reden, oder ob sie schweigend vorgeben, einander nicht erkannt zu haben.
Die Sprache ist leise und poetisch, aber auch präzise beobachtend und macht aus diesem Buch eine sehr angenehme Lektüre.

Fazit:
Zwei Menschenleben, die sich dem Leser nur durch die Gedanken der beiden Protagonisten erschließen, denn sie sitzen schweigend im Zug nebeneinander. Eine leise Geschichte, die nachdenklich stimmt.

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Blondel-Un-hiver-a-Paris/654736

> UN HIVER À PARIS, par Jean-Philippe Blondel (Pocket, 2016, Poche, 192 pages). — Jeune provincial, le narrateur débarque à la capitale pour faire ses années de classe préparatoire. Il va découvrir une solitude nouvelle et un univers où la compétition est impitoyable. Un jour, un élève moins résistant que lui craque en plein cours, sort en insultant le prof et enjambe la balustrade.
On retrouve dans Un hiver à Paris tout ce qui fait le charme des romans de Jean-Philippe Blondel : la complexité des relations ; un effondrement, suivi d'une remontée mais à quel prix ; l'attirance pour la mort et pour la vie ; la confusion des sentiments ; le succès gagné sur un malentendu ; le plaisir derrière la douleur ; l'amertume derrière la joie.
Sont présents les trois lieux qui guident la vie de l'auteur : Troyes, Paris, les Landes. Dans la lignée de Et rester vivant, il y a chez le personnage-auteur-narrateur la même rage pure, la même sauvagerie - pour rester toujours debout sous des allures presque dilettantes.
—Johnny Gimenez (Culturebox)

Rounded up from 3.5. This novel about not-strangers on an early-morning train reads well in Alison Anderson's translation.

Achter dit ogenschijnlijk simpele verhaaltje (je leest het op 1 wat langere trein rit – pun intended) steken toch wel behoorlijk wat levensvragen: hebben gebeurtenissen van lang geleden nog altijd invloed op ons leven, hoe kunnen negatieve ervaringen een mensenleven veranderen, welk een diversiteit aan ervaringen bouwen mensen op 25 jaar tijd op, wat is succes hebben als je in de middelbare leeftijd bent gekomen, kan je je leven plots helemaal over een andere boeg gooien, enz. Dat is niet min. En het is de verdienste van Blondel dat hij dit allemaal verpakt heeft in een verhaaltje waarin 2 mensen die ooit een korte relatie hadden, elkaar 25 jaar na datum toevallig tegenover elkaar zitten in een trein, elkaar herkennen maar niks durven zeggen, en heel die tijd hun leven aan zich voorbij zien komen en wat er toen en sindsdien gebeurd is evalueren. Knap gedaan, al blijft het noodzakelijk wat aan de oppervlakte, en is het einde redelijk voorspelbaar.

Sometimes I wonder how publishers choose the books that will be translated.

I guess I missed the (literary?) point in this one.½