Delicacy

May 03, 2012 Jessica Gaskin rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an unexpected pleasure. I came across it on the Amazon kindle daily deal and decided to give it a try. There is something quite abstract and mythical about this novel that pulls it out of the 'chic lit' category and makes for a much more interesting read.

The main character is almost as much of a mystery to the reader as she is to the three men who become enchanted with her. And yet as a reader you share their enchantment and want to know more about her. Markus is also a character whom w...more This was an unexpected pleasure. I came across it on the Amazon kindle daily deal and decided to give it a try. There is something quite abstract and mythical about this novel that pulls it out of the 'chic lit' category and makes for a much more interesting read.

The main character is almost as much of a mystery to the reader as she is to the three men who become enchanted with her. And yet as a reader you share their enchantment and want to know more about her. Markus is also a character whom we know little about. We hear about him from himself, but we also hear that he is a self confessed 'gloomy Swede' and so is bound to have a negative angle on self-perception. Through the eyes of others he is seen as a strange combination of a nobody and a hero. I can't help but feel that he represents something higher than an individual, he is almost a demi-god sent to help Natalie's recovery and show her how to move on. This feeling is exemplified by the ending, which I found both frustrating and perfect (but I won't spoil that!). The other character in the novel, Charles, is the opposite of Markus, and quite possibly represents the flaws of the reality we live in. He gives Natalie the final push to move on from her old life.

The style of this novel is quite special. The main chapters have an almost dream-like quality. The sparse narrative gives just enough away and reads simply, almost like a fairy tale. This is broken up by snippets of information, solid facts from real life. I felt these were almost like a palett cleanser (but less sweet than the traditional lemon sorbet!), bringing the reader back to reality in between tantalisingly short chunks of the bitter sweet modern day fairy tale. I think in this way they are similar to Charles' presence in the novel, in that they represent the trivial realities of life that can stop you from viewing the bigger picture.

All in all a magical little novel. Quick to read and quite enchanting. This has been nominated for all 5 major French book awards and I definitely wouldn't write it off as chic lit.(less)

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Feb 02, 2012 Winna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mellow-books

Another holiday read. I find this one charming, and very delicate. I like the author's writing style, quite unique with bits of random things that relate a bit to the story, enchanting characters that are flawed, quirky but real. I like Natalie, I find myself wanting to know more about her and how her relationship with the people around her evolve.

More excited to find that a movie starring Audrey Taoutou is to be released soon, based on this book. I imagine her when I read, and what a perfect ca...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Marie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: français-europe

J'avais espéré un roman plus nuancé sur l'amour naissant après la perte mais au lieu de cela on patauge dans les stéréotypes et dans le sentimentalisme. L'écriture est correcte mais comme les personnages et les situations sont soit fades ou mélodramatiques, il est difficile de rester intéressée. Markus, cet homme qui fait preuve de la délicatesse du titre, est juste un gars attentif, sincère et amoureux. Une espèce en voie de disparition en France? Je crois que c'est parce que je suis Américaine...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Corinne Kevorkian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

J'ai adoré ce livre. La Délicatesse est un petit joyau. Une ode à l'amour, à la vie - rempli de perles fines et d'objets rares. Les phrases surprennent et enchantent. Les personnages ravissent, même dans leur faiblesse et laideur, mais surtout dans leur vérite et leur fragilité. Je suis tombée sur ce livre et cet auteur par hasard. Un peu comme Nathalie sur François ou Markus. Quel cadeau divin! Je suis maintenant une convertie. David Foenkinos est un maître de la langue française - un language...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Nathanaëlle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

De prime abord, j'avais failli interrompre la lecture de ce livre puisque je me retrouvais, pour la énième fois, face à un début d'histoire un peu trop clichée. Mais je m'étais quand même décidée à poursuivre ma lecture et tant mieux d'ailleurs! Je ne fus pas du tout déçue finalement. Certes l'histoire n'est pas très innovante mais la plume de l'auteur est vraiment agréable à lire. Je ne me suis pas du tout ennuyée en dévorant ces 200 pages et j'ai surtout (sou)ri pas mal de fois!
Un joli mélange...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Eliza rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grosse déception pour moi que la lecture de ce roman, best-seller de l'été ! J'avais été séduite par le charme décalé de la photo de couverture et l'extrait en quatrième, qui semblaient annoncer un texte drôle, pertinent et inventif. Mais j'ai eu vraiment du mal à finir... L'histoire m'a paru improbable, les personnages inconsistants (malgré le personnage de Nathalie, très touchant au début du roman), la fin convenue. le roman est émaillé de petites listes qui, bien que tendres au début, m'ont l...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Readers whose favorite genre is the rewarding love story (alas, that's not me) will find in this book something quite above average. The writing is efficient and not too long (a commendable feat in our day and age), somewhat perceptive and quite innovative -- though the necessity of this form is never made entirely clear (and in my opinion, if you want to make literary claims, you had better not stop at whiffs and effects).

More problematically, the book owes a huge debt to Milan Kundera which is...more Readers whose favorite genre is the rewarding love story (alas, that's not me) will find in this book something quite above average. The writing is efficient and not too long (a commendable feat in our day and age), somewhat perceptive and quite innovative -- though the necessity of this form is never made entirely clear (and in my opinion, if you want to make literary claims, you had better not stop at whiffs and effects).

More problematically, the book owes a huge debt to Milan Kundera which is, astonishingly enough, never acknowledged directly (though there are a few almost-quotes, and I believe a significant part of the approach and style would have been unthinkable before Kundera, starting with the title). This omission is all the more puzzling as the narrator basks in the glow of numerous references to authors and works of all kinds, some hidden and many avowed in the form of a rather heavy case of "namedropping" (an OK way to characterize via taste, but not so innovative anymore).

In last analysis, Foenkinos's lucidity is no match for Kundera's: Kundera's lucidity is radical and incisive, painful if it has to (while being illuminating and liberating), because it is downright honest. Foenkinos's lucidity feels like an effect of style. It works up to a point but often has an air of stopping midway, too late to have merely suggested what it claims to reveal (which would have been the "delicate" good writing), and too early to have really brought something new to the world (the "lucid" good writing).

Also, this apparent lucid/uncompromising style betrays its promise when it becomes somewhat cheap and cheesy in the last part (pages of which might almost have been written by Marc Levy, though I've never been able to go far enough in his books that I could say for sure). Finally, I didn't like that the narrator relishes the deeper understanding he (or she) has of the characters than they have of themselves. There is something slightly patronizing in this stance and I didn't enjoy the winks to the reader who is made to feel that he/she also ends up knowing the characters better than themselves. Such "overscient" situations are tricky and should be managed carefully, lest the narrator might come across as somehow callous, as was the case in my opinion in this book.(less)

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Apr 21, 2013 Rajiv Perseedoss rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of the best written books i have read - as soon as i started it, i knew it was gonna be the most exciting tube journeys for the coming week; indeed it was. I picked it up, read it before going to work, at lunch, after work, before i went to sleep and savoured every single page and expression and emotion evoked and conveyed throughout the book.

While not emotionally as deep and strong as The Paris Wife, life and love and passion is discussed and expressed throughout; for someone withou...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Robyn Mann rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Read my full review at http://96eustonroad.wordpress.com/201...

Natalie’s life is, quite simply, perfect. She has a satisfying job, good friends, and a husband she loves and is loved by. She has what so many desire: contentment. This fragile serenity is shattered when, after seven years of marriage, her husband, Francois, is involved in an fatal accident. After his untimely death, Natalie must come to terms to a world without him, and try to reforge her identity and her life. She finds security i...more Read my full review at http://96eustonroad.wordpress.com/201...

Natalie’s life is, quite simply, perfect. She has a satisfying job, good friends, and a husband she loves and is loved by. She has what so many desire: contentment. This fragile serenity is shattered when, after seven years of marriage, her husband, Francois, is involved in an fatal accident. After his untimely death, Natalie must come to terms to a world without him, and try to reforge her identity and her life. She finds security in isolation, certain that only when one loves can one lose. And then one small ‘accidental’ kiss changes everything, and Natalie finds herself falling for the unlikeliest of men: her awkward, odd, shy, Swedish co-worker Markus.

Not the greatest synopsis, I admit. It doesn’t sound like much, does it? That is part of the beauty of this novel. And believe me, pals, this book is BEAUTIFUL. There’s no other word for it. No, that’s a lie. There are so many other words for it: witty, elegant, funny, wistful, sad, and yes, my favourite, poignant. This book made me feel all the feelings.

This book cracked me open and made me FEEL. Oh, it was ugly, my friends. So very ugly. And I think the publisher should reimburse me for the 8,379 Kleenexes I used while reading this book.

The story itself is quite simple. Love, loss, love again. The characters are all exceptionally crafted, complex and unique and believable. They felt less like characters than like people in your own life – which is how great characters in great novels seem, I guess. The weird little details are hilarious, like Markus reading an article about mozzarella trafficking or how Francois decided to first speak to Natalie because she ordered apricot juice at the cafe, which indicated she was a “sweet, well-balanced woman [...] only slightly original without being completely eccentric” (p. 4). Foenkinos is a masterful storyteller. The writing, as that little taste illustrates, will make you drool, and the pacing was incomparable, one of the best examples of measured story-telling I can think of. Nothing dragged, nothing lagged, nothing felt rushed or anything but eminently crafted. One of the stand-out aspects was how Foenkinos managed to maintain an effervescence, even when the story ventured into darker topics. The chapters that consisted entirely of lists or were only a sentence long were used very intelligently. Just when I thought my eyes would start getting wrinkly like toes too long in the bathtub, there would be a funny little chapter entitled “The Top Scorers of the World of Puzzles Championship in Minsk, October 27 to November 1, 2008″ and I would stop crying (for a while).

And the ending was just… perfect. It didn’t disappoint by betraying the spirit of the book and ending unhappily - this is, above all, and despite the pervasive theme of loss, a book about happiness – nor was it maudlin or trite. It embraced that delicate sweetness that life can sometimes offer. It was hopeful. (This book is superlatively titled, by the way. Delicacy – just think of that word and what it means. It’s mind-embiggening.) Damn it, this book will go straight to that ever-clenching first of muscle trapped in your rib cage and make you believe in love again, even if Sean Bean hasn’t called you (yet). It will make you entreat and/or threaten whatever gods you root for to put a sweet, nerdy, giant Swedish dude in your path the next time you get to Paris. If you weren’t already hoping for that. Ahem. God, this book. THIS BOOK. I can’t even. You know? You know. Or if you don’t, read it, and then you will, and we can just wring our hands at each other while bemoaning our inability to articulate in human language how this book makes us FEEL. It will be all shrugs and awe-struck puffs of breath, which is only acceptable communication on the scandalous former planet, Pluto, where everyone is always in a state of speechless consternation.

Verdict: Really? Do I even need to say this? Freaking MAGNIFIQUE!

Best line(s): “On the other hand, she’d thanked him for the lovely evening. Yes, she had, she’d written the word “lovely.” Markus relished that word. That wasn’t nothing, “a lovely evening.” She could have written “a nice evening,” but no, she’d chosen the word “lovely.” “Lovely”–what a beautiful word. Clearly, what a lovely evening. It was enough to make you think you were in that heyday of long dresses and horse-drawn carriages…But what was I thinking about? he thought, suddenly going into a tailspin. I’ve got to act and stop letting my mind wander. Yes, “lovely” certainly was beautiful, but it wasn’t even a foot in the door; now he needed to shake a leg and go the extra mile. Oh, he felt desperate. He didn’t have the slightest idea.” (p. 126)

AND

“”But you need to have lived years in nothingness to understand how a person can suddenly become frightened by a possibility.” (p. 140)

Rating: Five out five bloody, beating hearts. That’s as romantic as I’m gonna get.(less)

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Dec 30, 2012 Tryn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: novel, romantic

I really enjoyed Foenkinos' unique and fresh style. I’m not sure how to describe his style, but I’ll try by giving some examples.

Foenkinos switches point of view without transition. You’ll be reading along in one character’s mind and suddenly switch to the other character’s point of view without warning. You have to mentally catch up and figure out where the switch took place, but sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint. This sounds like it would be annoying, but I liked the way it kept me on my toes me...more I really enjoyed Foenkinos' unique and fresh style. I’m not sure how to describe his style, but I’ll try by giving some examples.

Foenkinos switches point of view without transition. You’ll be reading along in one character’s mind and suddenly switch to the other character’s point of view without warning. You have to mentally catch up and figure out where the switch took place, but sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint. This sounds like it would be annoying, but I liked the way it kept me on my toes mentally and the way it reveals how an individual's story intertwines with another's.

This author gives alternatives to the plot at times, instead of nailing it down. It may have been this way, or it may have been that way. Sometimes he even does this in a footnote. “They got up quickly and dressed slowly” has a footnote that says, “It may have been the opposite.”

In this and other ways Foenkinos draws attention to the fact that you are reading a novel. A description of one character at a train station is illustrative of this author-reader-story consciousness. “He saw her, standing stock still, at the other side of the station concourse. He began to walk toward her, slowly, sort of like in a movie. You’d have no trouble imagining the music that accompanied this moment. Or else silence. Yes, silence would be good. You’d only hear their breathing. You’d almost be able to forget the sadness of the décor. Salvador Dali would never have been able to be inspired by the Lisieux train station. It was empty and cold . . . And there was Natalie, so close to him. With those lips of the kiss. But her face was shut down. Her face was the Lisieux train station.”

Plot chapters are interspersed with exposition chapters that feel more like trivia tidbits. If a character is listening to a soccer game on the radio in the plot sequence, the next chapter is a list of soccer scores for that day. If a character refers to a work of art or a song, the next chapter might be trivia about the artist or the lyrics to the song. Some of these short chapters are irrelevant, but others come to have significance later. Kind of like life. Some of the details of our lives are insignificant, trivial, random. Others take on meaning later, as we go along. We won’t know until the end of our story which is which.

One of these trivia chapters is a definition of the word delicacy: the quality of being delicate, fragile, or sensitive. We see this definition played out in the two main characters. They are each fragile and vulnerable for their own reasons: Natalie is a recent widow and suffers from the grief of losing her husband and the happiness of an ideal marriage. Markus is fragile because of his troubled history with women and his loneliness. While Natalie represent the feminine ideal, Markus is awkward, unattractive and doubtful of his own virility. But these emotional weaknesses become strengths that draw them to each other. Natalie realizes that what she has needed was to “rediscover men through a man who was not a frequenter of women.” And Markus feels his virility growing stronger in the surprising relationship with Natalie that unfolds and her attraction to him. His awe for her makes him sensitive, makes him clumsy even, but awkwardness actually adds to his attraction—that and his way of saying unexpected, crazy things that make her pause or laugh or wonder. And that is the same appeal this book had for me—the crazy, unexpected way the writer had of making me pause or laugh or wonder.
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Dec 12, 2012 Svenja rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-sterne

Irgendwie habe ich keine Meinung zu dem Buch. Vielleicht kennen das einige von euch ja auch. Man kann einfach nicht sagen, ob das Buch ein Flop, oder ein Top war. Ich werde trotzdem mal versuchen zu rezensieren.

Die Geschichte ist wirklich feinfühlig und einfühlsam geschrieben. Trotzdem hat mir irgendetwas gefehlt. Irgendwie waren da zu wenig Dialoge und zu viele Abschweifungen von der eigentlichen Geschichte. Es war also schlicht und ergreifend einfach langweilig.

Was ich ganz gut fand: Nach jede...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Felicity rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Delicacy was a novel that I pursued for months, my interest being sparked by my favourite French actress Audrey Tautou playing the main character in the upcoming film. However, I was bitterly disappointed once I did begin to read the novel. The writing style was detached and disengaging, with several footnotes added that didn't enhance features or specific personalities of the characters.
The author's need to separate the 250 pages into 115 chapters irritated me to the point where I felt compelle...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Steve rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started this book in much the same way as the main character - hopeful. It seemed so full of promise. Unfortunately, I very quickly found myself becoming irritated by the writing style, which reads like a cross between a movie script and a Twitter feed. Is it really necessary for a 250 page book to have 115 chapters? - Especially when some of them are made up of only three or four words. I should have been forewarned by the footnote on the first page, where after saying "But she never ever fel...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Zarina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Natalie meets François in a chance encounter on the street and in no time they are inseparable; they are simply "meant to be" (as cheesy as that may sound). Even in marriage they still lead the perfect life together, without fights or infidelity. That is, until François is unexpectedly taken away from Natalie and she has to try to manage without the love of her life.

Delicacy tells the story of Natalie's romantic life from François to her boss Charles and co-worker Markus. It's a story of findin...more Natalie meets François in a chance encounter on the street and in no time they are inseparable; they are simply "meant to be" (as cheesy as that may sound). Even in marriage they still lead the perfect life together, without fights or infidelity. That is, until François is unexpectedly taken away from Natalie and she has to try to manage without the love of her life.

Delicacy tells the story of Natalie's romantic life from François to her boss Charles and co-worker Markus. It's a story of finding love in perhaps the most unexpected places.

I'm a romantic at heart and generally adore romance/chick-lit type novels, whether they're mindless beach reads or "proper" literature. This means that in my reviews and ratings of these kinds of books I usually am quite easy-going as they're my weak spot so to speak.

However, despite this, I thought that Delicacy was nothing to write home about. It tries to be quirky but only becomes increasingly irritating. Written in very short chapters and even shorter sentences there is no space for the characters to gain depth or for the story to raise above the simplistic, which makes it a disengaging experience for the readers.

The first few times a chapter merely contained a sum-up of main character Natalie's three favourite novels or the top scores in a World Puzzle Championship it was still reasonably amusing and tied into the plot at the time, but it soon became a pointless addition that I was tempted to just skim over, particularly when it was seemingly unrelated to the story at hand. The choice of short, factual chapters was also highly disruptive of the overall storyline of Natalie and made it very difficult for me to care for her or her life at all.

The one thing the novel truly has going for it is that it's incredibly short and so I didn't have to suffer through it for more than a few hours. I'd give it 2.5 stars just for that and the fact that author David Foenkinos tried to approach his novel in a unique way. It's just a shame that it didn't quite work in the end. (less)

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Aug 12, 2012 Sasha rated it 3 of 5 stars

A touching, tragic story of newly-widowed Natalie as she learns to tread a fine balance between her quest to overcome grief and her steps towards rebuilding romance in her life. Little do we know we are to befriend the two men overcoming their fears- the two men, her colleague and her boss, who fixate upon Natalie.

She returns to work after her leave of absence and finds herself stuck between these two men vying for her heart. Natalie is completely and utterly oblivious to their affections. Unde...more A touching, tragic story of newly-widowed Natalie as she learns to tread a fine balance between her quest to overcome grief and her steps towards rebuilding romance in her life. Little do we know we are to befriend the two men overcoming their fears- the two men, her colleague and her boss, who fixate upon Natalie.

She returns to work after her leave of absence and finds herself stuck between these two men vying for her heart. Natalie is completely and utterly oblivious to their affections. Understandably she is still shocked, and her depression manifests itself in her renewed commitment to her work. The second half of the novel shifts focus from Natalie to her suitors in their quest to win her love.

I would have liked to get to know the winsome, intelligent Natalie a bit better. The reasons these men fall for her is cloudy. There is a delicious sense of mystery surrounding her, but when she kisses one of the men for seemingly no reason other than her ‘neurons’ I started to question the credulity of Natalie as a real woman. At this point she started to seem more one-dimensional, simply a portrait of a woman’s biological clock ticking- by a male author who needed a simple plot device to bring two people together.

I suspended my disbelief and read on. I learned to appreciate the quirkiness of Foenkinos’s style. He breaks up the narrative for lovely comedic breaks in interlocking chapters comprising recipes, results of sporting matches, newspaper articles and song lyrics.
Delicacy is of a rare breed of romance novels in which men are puzzled with a single, enigmatic woman. A kind of harlequin novel in reverse- at times even I struggled to read Natalie’s motives.

The practice of discovering the hero’s inner thoughts and feelings is the object of the conventional harlequin heroine. In Delicacy, however, the tables are turned. Though Charles and Markus have not gone through the grief which Natalie has, each have their own separate sorrows that they tackle.

A final word regarding the translation- originally written in French, the English translation attempts a lightness and delicacy in turns of phrase and in jokes but just falls short. I appreciate its originality in style, but I would wager it lost a bit of its charm and subtlety along the way. Regardless, a beautifully-crafted love story.
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Jul 21, 2012 Muselmu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: liebe

Nathalie und François sind das perfekte Paar. Selbst nach 7 Jahren Beziehung sind sie immer noch wie frisch verliebt und es scheint wirklich so, als hätten die beiden ihren Partner fürs Leben gefunden.
Doch dann wird François von einem Auto überfahren und stirbt. Für Nathalie bricht eine Welt zusammen und als sie wieder beginnt, zur Arbeit zu gehen, stürzt sie sich in diese, als ginge es um ihr Leben. Sie geht nicht mehr aus, trifft sich kaum noch mit Freunden - geschweige denn mit Männern.
Drei J...more Nathalie und François sind das perfekte Paar. Selbst nach 7 Jahren Beziehung sind sie immer noch wie frisch verliebt und es scheint wirklich so, als hätten die beiden ihren Partner fürs Leben gefunden.
Doch dann wird François von einem Auto überfahren und stirbt. Für Nathalie bricht eine Welt zusammen und als sie wieder beginnt, zur Arbeit zu gehen, stürzt sie sich in diese, als ginge es um ihr Leben. Sie geht nicht mehr aus, trifft sich kaum noch mit Freunden - geschweige denn mit Männern.
Drei Jahre später hat sich nicht viel verändert. Nathalie zieht nach wie vor die Blicke der Männer auf sich, ohne sie zu bemerken und nach wie vor kann sie sich nicht vorstellen, sich jemals wieder zu verlieben.
Da kommt eines Tages ihr schrulliger Mitarbeiter Markus in ihr Büro als sie gerade am Träumen ist und dieser weiß gar nicht, wie ihm geschieht als Nathalie - ohne überhaupt zu realisieren, was sie da tut - auf ihn zugeht und ihn ohne Weiteres küsst. Schon direkt danach hat sie vergessen, dass es diesen Kuss überhaupt gab, doch Markus' Welt wird dadurch aus den Angeln gehoben.

David Foenkinos hat wirklich eine bezaubernde kleine Liebesgeschichte geschaffen. Vor allem Markus war mir von Anfang an sympathisch durch seinen verschrobenen Charakter und die Art und Weise wie er mit sich und der Welt umgeht. Nathalie ging neben dieser tollen Figur für mich manchmal sogar etwas unter, was zwar nicht weiter schlimm war. Für mich stand in diesem Buch Markus im Mittelpunkt.
Eigentlich bin ich ja immer recht skeptisch, wenn es um Liebesromane geht, doch "La délicatesse" konnte mich vollkommen überzeugen.
Die Geschichte wirkt für mich sehr realitätsnah und kommt ohne Kitsch und Schnulzen aus. Mit kanpp über 200 Seiten ist das Buch natürlich recht dünn, doch es war genau die richtige Länge. Der Schreibstil ist sehr schön zu lesen. Warmherzig und teilweise doch von einer fast schon kühlen Eleganz. Dazwischen dann wieder poetisch mit sehr schönen einfachen Dialogen, die überhaupt nicht gekünstelt wirken, obgleich sie teilweise wirklich etwas Besonderes an sich haben. Natürlich sind auch alle Charaktere, selbst Markus, der ja nun doch etwas sonderlich ist, wirkt niemals vom Autor für diesen Zweck konstruiert sondern so, als könnte man ihm jeden Augenblick auf der Straße begegnen.
Und so wie die Charaktere, ist auch die Geschichte selbst. Nichts wirkt an den Haaren herbeigezogen. Man hat wirklich das Gefühl, dass sich das so irgendwo abspielen könnte. Dennoch wirkt das Buch nie "gewöhnlich". Selbst in Alltagssituation schafft es Foenkinos, eine gewisse Magie aufkommen zu lassen, teilweise nur ein Funken, ein kleiner Satz, eine Redewendung, die man nicht erwartet hätte, ein kleines Detail - und schon verliert die Szenerie jegliche Banalität und wirkt wie aus einem Märchen.

Auch wenn sich die Handlung natürlich aus einer sehr traurigen Vorgeschichte heraus entwickelt, so hatte ich beim Lesen doch immer ein stilles Lächeln auf den Lippen und ein warmes Gefühl ums Herz. Es ist eine Wohlfühlgeschichte, bei der man schon zu Beginn zu wissen scheint, wie sie ausgeht und das verschafft einem die Möglichkeit, sich schon während dem Lesen auf dieses Ende zu freuen.

Das Buch ist in sehr kurze Kapitel aufgeteilt und dazwischen finden sich fast immer kleine Zwischenkapitelchen, die teilweise nur aus einer Zeile bestehen. Hier sind alle möglichen Informationen untergebracht, die die Handlung zwar nicht vorantreiben, die aber auch ein Stück der oben genannten Magie schaffen. Mal ist es der Text zu einem Lied, das gerade im Radio läuft, mal ein Zitat aus dem Buch, das jemand liest. Oder die Entfernung zwischen zwei Städten. Die Verkaufszahlen der Lieblingssüßigkeit des Bürochefs. Eine Liste mit Sätzen, die François zu Nathalie gesagt haben könnte, bevor an dem schicksalsträchtigen Tag das Haus verließ.
Eine sehr schöne Idee, die ich in dieser Form noch in keinem anderen Buch gesehen habe.

Alles in allem hat dieses Buch es wirklich geschafft, mich zu verzaubern. Eine ganz wunderbare unspektakulär spektakuläre Liebesgeschichte, die genau den richtigen Ton trifft.(less)

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Jul 02, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, so this book clocks in at an easy 250 pages but the cool thing? Is that there are 115 chapters. Yeah, you read that right. What makes this kind of a genius idea is that you can't stop at one chapter- you can easily read 20 chapters and feel like you are sailing through this book.

This book was originally written in French and translated to English which is kind of obvious in some parts when you read it. People don't speak, let alone write, the way the words are written in the book and I'm su...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Gan See Siong rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am not sure who did a better job, David Foekinos the French author or Bruce Benderson who translated the book.

There are subtle nuances, cultural relics that no matter how accurate, exact or excellent the translation, the translated text would not be able to capture.

I enjoy the book so much I am thinking of learning French so that I can appreciate the original text better.

Perhaps because it was originally in French, the translation can’t help but retain the heat, the texture that defines wha...more I am not sure who did a better job, David Foekinos the French author or Bruce Benderson who translated the book.

There are subtle nuances, cultural relics that no matter how accurate, exact or excellent the translation, the translated text would not be able to capture.

I enjoy the book so much I am thinking of learning French so that I can appreciate the original text better.

Perhaps because it was originally in French, the translation can’t help but retain the heat, the texture that defines what is French. Think French, you think French cuisine, macaron and dogs (in France, dogs are given equivalent status as human; they can seat in the plane, take train and sit as equal in restaurant) and the space or the time to breathe (in Singapore we take in gulps; ‘no time man, got to work’).

Natalie is beautiful and intelligent. Life was perfect for her until her husband was killed in a traffic accident. She used work to numb the pain of loss and years later for no apparent reason, she kissed her colleague Markus impulsively. Markus wasn’t the ideal novel type of ‘tall, dark and handsome’. Instead he was variably described as ‘ugly, ‘no body to look at’, ‘limp as noodle’. Charles, Natalie’s boss adores Natalie but was spurned and couldn’t understand what Natalie sees in Markus. There is no great plot in the essentially book about finding romance in the strangest of places.

The chapters were short and interspersed with snippets such as text messages, song lyrics, train schedules, dictionary definitions, and excerpts from screenplays, facts and lists. The snippets were like cleansing your palette in wine tasting and fine dining. It allows you to move between courses (chapters) and appreciate the complex and varied flavours better.

The book is delightfully written with humour, wit and full of poetic turn of phrases. It is not meaty but delicate like macarons - beautifully layered with the favours marrying into each other unobtrusively

Days after reading it, I am still subconsciously pressing between my tongue and soft palate to find the remnants.
(less)

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Apr 26, 2012 Lesefee86 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Liebe ist etwas Zartes und wunderschönes, das merkt auch Nathalie schnell, als sie Francois kennen lernt. Sogleich ist ihr klar, dass sie ihr Leben mit ihm verbringen will, auch wenn er sie total überrumpelt hat.
Die beiden verbringen ihre Zeit miteinander, planen ihre Zukunft, heiraten – und werden dann ohne jede Vorahnung voneinander getrennt: Francois wird überfahren und Nathalie muss zusehen, wie das
Leben aus ihm fließt. Die folgenden Jahre sind schwer, denn all die Pläne lösen sich plötzlic...more Liebe ist etwas Zartes und wunderschönes, das merkt auch Nathalie schnell, als sie Francois kennen lernt. Sogleich ist ihr klar, dass sie ihr Leben mit ihm verbringen will, auch wenn er sie total überrumpelt hat.
Die beiden verbringen ihre Zeit miteinander, planen ihre Zukunft, heiraten – und werden dann ohne jede Vorahnung voneinander getrennt: Francois wird überfahren und Nathalie muss zusehen, wie das
Leben aus ihm fließt. Die folgenden Jahre sind schwer, denn all die Pläne lösen sich plötzlich ins Nichts auf.
So stürzt sich Nathalie ins Arbeitsleben, ignoriert die mitleidigen Blicke der Kollegen und die Anmachen ihres Chefs. Eines Tages aber reicht es ihr. Ohne nachzudenken küsst sie Markus, einen Kollegen, der sich schon lange zu ihr hingezogen fühlt. Für Nathalie war es aber nicht mehr - nur eine Handlung aus der Situation raus.
Doch so einfach lässt sich Markus nicht abwimmeln und er beginnt um Nathalie zu kämpfen…

"Lange stand sie da, zögerte, während die Tränen ihr das Gesicht herunterliefen. Vor allen Dingen in der ersten Zeit nach der Beerdigung kehrte sie oft an den Unglücksort zurück. Woher der Drang kam, sich selbst derart wehzutun, wusste sie nicht. Es war hirnrissig, da herumzustehen, sich die Grausamkeit des Aufpralls vorzustellen und so den Tod des geliebten Mannes greifbarer machen zu wollen."
(S. 44, 13 - 19)

„Nathalie küsst“ ist eine aufwühlende Geschichte.
Zu Beginn begegnet der Leser einer jungen, hübschen Frau, die alles zu haben scheint und deren Leben in geregelten Bahnen läuft. Schnell aber sieht man wie tief eine noch so starke Frau fallen kann.
Foenkinos beschreibt die Verzweiflung und Trauer Nathalies nach Francois Tod, so eindringlich, dass man nur mitfühlen kann. Sobald sie einen Schritt nach vorne zu wagen scheint, geht sie wieder zwei zurück.
Trotz ihrem Verlust, beherrscht sie sich vor Anderen noch sehr gut und eignet sich schnell ein zweites Gesicht an, damit niemand in sie hinein blicken kann. Die einzelnen Geschehnisse werden immer wieder mit kleinen Einfügungen belegt. Z.B. wird von einem Lied geschrieben und kurz darauf erhält man den Text dazu. Das macht das Buch für mich etwas lebendiger.
Neben der Geschichte um das Leid und das Leben Nathalies ist auch Carsten, ihr Chef, sehr oft vertreten. Immer wieder präsentiert er die Sehnsucht, die er in Bezug auf Nathalie spürt und kann sich nicht erklären, warum sie nicht auf seinen Charme eingeht.
Dieses Buch ist eine Achterbahnfahrt, denn gerade wenn man sich an die melancholische Stimmung gewöhnt hat und kaum noch zu glauben vermag, dass es Nathalie gelingen wird positiv in die Zukunft zu blicken, handelt sie völlig unüberlegt und mischt alle Karten noch einmal neu. Plötzlich hat sie etwas gewagt, dass sie sich selbst nicht zugetraut hat und bereut es doch sofort. Doch Nathalie wird schnell klar, das der nicht ganz so hübsche Markus doch mehr in ihr berührt hat, als nur ihre Lippen.
Für Markus beginnt ein Hin und Her, denn einerseits möchte er sich in die Liebe fallen lassen, Nathalie begehren und sie glücklich machen und doch sieht er keine Chance in seinem Vorhaben, da sie einfach unerreichbar ist. Durch ein kleines Geschenk aber schafft er es ihre ganze Gedankenwelt auf sie zu richten und gemeinsam wagen sie sich auf neues Terrain.
Eine Liebesgeschichte, die den Leser nach Melancholie in ein Feuer aus Freude und Spannung wirft, denn jeder will wissen was mit den beiden geschieht. Es war nicht sehr leicht das Buch zwischendurch wegzulegen, denn die Geschichte schwirrt einem die ganze Zeit im Kopf umher.
Eine Geschichte um den Schmerz des Verlusts und das Weiterleben; um Liebe, Schmerz und eine Menge Mut, mit einem Ende, das konsequenter und berührender nicht sein kann.(less)

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Mar 17, 2012 Ciara rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: incomprehensibly-terrible, overrated, read-in-2012

wow. i can't believe how terrible this book is. it's a french novel that was apparently nominated for or won all five top french literary prizes. really, france? this book is honestly nothing but an ode to the shameless disregard for sexual harassment law. but i guess france is the same country that gave us dominique struss-kahn. maybe i shouldn't be surprised.

i put this on hold at the library based on a review that said it was about how a woman recovers after the sudden death of her young husb...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Jenna Anderson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, romance

This was a cute book. A very quick read about loss and eventually finding love again. I really enjoyed the writing style. The author included small, short chapters with recipes, soccer stats, humorous quotes, etc.. I also loved the footnotes throughout the book. I have to say though, that some of the character's were a tad odd. Also, this is a pretty short book which was nice but I found that the character development was a bit lacking. I guess I just never felt like I really new the character's...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Julie (julie37619) rated it 4 of 5 stars

First of all, I must point out that this is a movie cover - possibly the first movie cover I've ever found tolerable. I like the shot, I love Audrey Tatou, and it doesn't look all movie-like. Plus there's just a tiny blurb about the movie itself on the cover. AND, I am pleased to know it's a movie because I liked the book and, like I said, love Audrey Tatou, so I'll have to hunt it down. It's the story of a young widow's second chance at love with an awkward, slightly geeky co-worker.

Writing
If y...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Georgette rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a great quick read and a warm-hearted and abashedly lovely book. Natalie Portman(the character, not the actress)loses her husband Francois after he is hit by a car several years into their marriage. She pours herself into her job(more than usual, which is truly saying something!)and tries to forget how to live, except at work. Her boss has an-almost stalker-ish crush on her(to no avail), and she finds herself intrigued by, and eventually falling for, the oddball of the office. He's a comple...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Lett' rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un livre d’un auteur encore inconnu pour moi, David Foenkinos et son œuvre qui a reçu dix prix littéraires. Je pense sincèrement que ce roman méritait fortement ces prix. J’ai beaucoup aimé la forme et le style, qui était très drôle. De plus, j’ai littéralement adoré l’histoire d’une veuve qui retrouve l’amour sans le chercher. L’écriture est compréhensible, avec une qualité toute facile.
Un livre sur le hasard, mais aussi sur le moment de découverte d’une personne, comme François découvert dans...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Benito Cuchillo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: litterature-francaise

Un joli roman de reconstruction amoureuse.

voici un livre à découvrir que j'ai lu sur un malentendu, sa jaquette, où il est écrit que lors de sa première rencontre avec Nathalie, François en offrant à boire à cette inconnue, se dit que si elle choisit un jus d'abricot, il l'épouse. J'ai donc cru qu'il s'agissait d'un récit aussi léger et amusant qu'avait pu l'être son précédent roman : "le potentiel érotique de ma femme", que je résume à un sourire fugace.

Il y a dans cette dernière de couverture,...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Emmajulia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Je me suis laissée prendre par ce livre en parcourant Amazon à la recherche de nouvelles idées de lecture. David Foenkinos a un style d'écriture facile à lire, un peu le genre de livre qu'on trouverait dans les boutiques Relay d'une gare un jour gris avant de prendre le train...cependant, ce livre facile et rapide à lire nous raconte bel et bien une histoire, entre émotion, faits et humour décalés : la vie de Nathalie, de sa rencontre avec celui qui deviendra son mari, jusqu'à sa chute le jour o...more Je me suis laissée prendre par ce livre en parcourant Amazon à la recherche de nouvelles idées de lecture. David Foenkinos a un style d'écriture facile à lire, un peu le genre de livre qu'on trouverait dans les boutiques Relay d'une gare un jour gris avant de prendre le train...cependant, ce livre facile et rapide à lire nous raconte bel et bien une histoire, entre émotion, faits et humour décalés : la vie de Nathalie, de sa rencontre avec celui qui deviendra son mari, jusqu'à sa chute le jour où celui-ci meurt suit à un accident, puis enfin sa renaissance grâce à une belle découverte humaine.
Je trouve assez intéressant que l'auteur ponctue ses différents chapitres de faits en relation avec chacun d'entre eux, une sorte de fin de chapitre à la Georges Perec, qui en fait un ouvrage au final assez charmant, bien que ce ne soit pas réellement le type de livre qui vous servira de point de réflexion philosophique.
Facile et rapide à lire, je recommanderai ce livre en "pause" entre deux livres plus complexes ou plus intenses.

----------

I came to this book when randomly browsing Amazon, looking for new reading ideas. David Foenkinos has an easy-going and quick-reading writing style, the kind of writing style that one could find in the Relay shop of a train station, before jumping on the train on a cloudy day...yet, the author manages to tell us an emotional but also offbeat story : the story of Nathalie, of her meeting with the one who'll become her husband, until the day he dies, then her fall, and finally her rebirth thanks to a great human discovery.
I find it pretty interesting that the author punctually finishes each chapter with some facts or figures related to each of them, a bit like Georges Perec's style, which makes this book actually charming, even though there are really few chances that philosophical ideas will come to your mind after reading it...
Easy and fast to read, I'd recommend this book as a "break" between two more intense or deeper books.(less)

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Jan 30, 2013 Minutepapillon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Je me souviens avoir plusieurs fois par le passé effleuré ce livre, feuilleté ici, reposé là, entre envie et doutes. Et puis quand j'ai entendu son auteur parler de son dernier roman dans mon salon l'autre soir, j'ai décidé de lui laisser sa chance.

Une histoire d'amour, de deuil, d'amour encore, avec du peut être dedans sans toutefois occulter une part de fatalité. Du grave, mais toujours les trois petits pas léger de l'auteur qui jongle à plaisir avec les mots. J'ai beaucoup aimé le grain de se...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Carmen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romántica, drama

Maravillosa. Me llamo la agención la cantidad de premios que había recibido, me gusto la reseña y me lo leí. Es una historia preciosa narrada con gran maestría. Leer este libro en el metro de camino al trabajo, aun medio dormido, o en la espera de una visita, no es difrutarlo. Este libro es para leerlo tranquilamente, en casa o en un lugar acogedor. Esta lleno de poesía de frases que vale la pena releer un par de veces antes de continuar la lectura, reflexiones sencillas que a veces no nos hacem...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

La Delicatesse non è un libro qualsiasi, è il libro sulle emozioni e gli stati d'animo, sulle prove della vita, sulla fragilità. Non è una storia d'amore, è LA storia d'amore con noi stessi o con qualcun altro. E quando Nathalie incontra François mai immaginerebbe che lui sia l'uomo della sua vita e sembra strano che tutto sia già deciso da una semplice scelta al bar " François pensò : se ordina un caffè, mi alzo e me ne vado. Questa è la bevanda meno conviviale che esista. Un thé, non è meglio....more

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Jul 31, 2011 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Depois de mais de cinco anos de um casamento de sonho, Nathalie perde François, que morre vítima de atropelamento. Inconformada por perder o seu grande amor, Nathalie entra num processo de luto profundo, isolando-se de tudo e todos.
Apesar de muita ajuda por parte dos amigos, há um em particular que se quer aproveitar de toda a situação para se aproximar mais desta jovem e bela viúva: Charles, o patrão, que se embeiçou por ela da primeira vez que lhe fez a entrevista de emprego. A falta de carác...more

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