Book Review #61
Paris Nocturne
by Patrick Modiano
The last book I finished, prior to reading this one, was Modiano's "After the Circus," which I found disappointing. Both novels are episodic and dreamlike, narrated by a young man who recalls the events years later as an adult, and deal with similar elements: a mysterious woman, tough guys, the streets of Paris, a distant father, a sense of danger, but, most importantly, memory, and are reminiscent of films by Alain Resnais such as "Muriel" and "Marienbad." A recurring phrase and motif in "Paris Nocturne" is "the eternal return," where characters and events from the past seemingly reappear and merge with those of the present. This is a much better written book than "After the Circus," where the language comes across as awkward and stilted, whereas in this novel the words seem natural and the sentences free-flowing. Obviously the reason is the superior translation from French to English by Phoebe Weston-Evans. I recommend this work of fiction to fans of Patrick Modiano and to those interested in French New Wave cinema and novels written by Alain Robbe-Grillet and Marguerite Duras.
by Patrick Modiano
The last book I finished, prior to reading this one, was Modiano's "After the Circus," which I found disappointing. Both novels are episodic and dreamlike, narrated by a young man who recalls the events years later as an adult, and deal with similar elements: a mysterious woman, tough guys, the streets of Paris, a distant father, a sense of danger, but, most importantly, memory, and are reminiscent of films by Alain Resnais such as "Muriel" and "Marienbad." A recurring phrase and motif in "Paris Nocturne" is "the eternal return," where characters and events from the past seemingly reappear and merge with those of the present. This is a much better written book than "After the Circus," where the language comes across as awkward and stilted, whereas in this novel the words seem natural and the sentences free-flowing. Obviously the reason is the superior translation from French to English by Phoebe Weston-Evans. I recommend this work of fiction to fans of Patrick Modiano and to those interested in French New Wave cinema and novels written by Alain Robbe-Grillet and Marguerite Duras.
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