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Jusque-là tout allait bien en Amérique
Un directeur de prison distribue des caleçons roses aux détenus. Plus loin, des rebelles squattent un bout de désert tandis qu''un agent immobilier vend des parcelles de Lune au public. Un Texan offre 5000 $ à quiconque abattra un délinquant, des bourreaux racontent leurs exécutions, un pasteur propose l''enfer en tableaux vivants, des aventuriers plongent leur tête dans la gueule d''un alligator. Et un homme invente l''autopsie en self-service...Portrait d''une société dans laquelle cohabitent tous les excès, se répandent toutes les fièvres morales et raciales, ce livre est le roman vrai de l''Amérique. Une Amérique qui sait, depuis le 11 septembre 2001, qu''elle aussi est mortelle.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Paul Dubois
44 books161 followersJean-Paul Dubois (b. 1950) is a French journalist and author. He is the author of several novels and travel pieces, and reports for Le Nouvel Observateur. His novel, Une vie française, published in French in 2004 and in English in 2007, is a saga of the French baby boom generation, from the idealism of the 1960s to the consumerism of the 1990s. The French version of the novel won the Prix Femina. He won the Prix Goncourt in 2019 for Tous les hommes n'habitent pas le monde de la même façon ("All Men Do Not Inhabit This World in the Same Way"), a novel told from the perspective of a prisoner looking back on life.
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November 21, 2025
The New Life of Paul Sneijder, based on the novel by Jean-Paul Dubois
There is only one chance in a billion to have an event like the one that lays the foundation for this film.
An elevator accident starts the
New Life of Paul Sneijder
Thierry Lhermitte is excellent in the leading role.
Alas, neither his performance nor the movie have attracted almost any attention.
Only one user of IMDB has bothered to write a few words and the same number of critics have noted on it…
We are doubling that figure, here and now.
If one is to sum this narrative, it could be under the banner of Coping with Adversity and Trauma…
This is one important area of Positive Psychology and there are two ways out of a trauma, one much more common than the other:
Most men and women that have the tragic experience of losing someone close suffer from what is called:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
There is also a phenomenon called…
Post Traumatic Growth.
The hero of this film, Paul Sneijder, is starting a new life as is clear from the very name of the motion picture.
Moreover, it could be argued that he experiences both:
PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth.
Before the unbelievable accident, Paul Sneijder had been what is generally called a “successful man”.
Only part of the appeal of this film rests in the fact that it provokes audiences to think about fundamental issues:
What is a successful life?
Alas, most humans think in terms of money, important position, material goods, power, fame and we can look at The Donald to see into what a mess all these can translate.
After the tragic accident that kills his daughter in a falling elevator, Paul Sneijder is forced to face new challenges and questions.
After an initial, normal breakdown, once the PTSD seems to be weakening, the hero has the chance to cope with the adversity.
Besides, this is a chance to understand what matters and what is irrelevant, the fact that his senior position means nothing to him.
In fact, he becomes a…dog walker and if this makes his entourage classify him as a mental case, the protagonist enjoys it.
Well, not all the provocations that come with the job are exhilarating- take the collection of dog feces.
There are some characters he does not like and he refuses to engage with, like the lawyer who wants to represent him.
Paul Sneijder can obtain a large sum that in court, but he hesitates for a long period, in spite, perhaps in part because, of his families wishes.
The hero even wins a cup in a beauty contest for dogs, shows that this viewer is familiar with…
We used to have five borzois, Russian hounds that took part in and won a series of Dog Shows…
One could look at the New Life of Paul Sneijder and perceive it as a real, happy portion that had been denied before the tragic death of his daughter.
When the family does not stop pressing for a settlement that would bring in so much money, the protagonist refuses…
What about the education we can get with that sum?
This is exactly my point…I do not want the death of my child to be used and make it pay…
The result? I will not disclose it; I will only say that the family is very cruel.
There is only one chance in a billion to have an event like the one that lays the foundation for this film.
An elevator accident starts the
New Life of Paul Sneijder
Thierry Lhermitte is excellent in the leading role.
Alas, neither his performance nor the movie have attracted almost any attention.
Only one user of IMDB has bothered to write a few words and the same number of critics have noted on it…
We are doubling that figure, here and now.
If one is to sum this narrative, it could be under the banner of Coping with Adversity and Trauma…
This is one important area of Positive Psychology and there are two ways out of a trauma, one much more common than the other:
Most men and women that have the tragic experience of losing someone close suffer from what is called:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
There is also a phenomenon called…
Post Traumatic Growth.
The hero of this film, Paul Sneijder, is starting a new life as is clear from the very name of the motion picture.
Moreover, it could be argued that he experiences both:
PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth.
Before the unbelievable accident, Paul Sneijder had been what is generally called a “successful man”.
Only part of the appeal of this film rests in the fact that it provokes audiences to think about fundamental issues:
What is a successful life?
Alas, most humans think in terms of money, important position, material goods, power, fame and we can look at The Donald to see into what a mess all these can translate.
After the tragic accident that kills his daughter in a falling elevator, Paul Sneijder is forced to face new challenges and questions.
After an initial, normal breakdown, once the PTSD seems to be weakening, the hero has the chance to cope with the adversity.
Besides, this is a chance to understand what matters and what is irrelevant, the fact that his senior position means nothing to him.
In fact, he becomes a…dog walker and if this makes his entourage classify him as a mental case, the protagonist enjoys it.
Well, not all the provocations that come with the job are exhilarating- take the collection of dog feces.
There are some characters he does not like and he refuses to engage with, like the lawyer who wants to represent him.
Paul Sneijder can obtain a large sum that in court, but he hesitates for a long period, in spite, perhaps in part because, of his families wishes.
The hero even wins a cup in a beauty contest for dogs, shows that this viewer is familiar with…
We used to have five borzois, Russian hounds that took part in and won a series of Dog Shows…
One could look at the New Life of Paul Sneijder and perceive it as a real, happy portion that had been denied before the tragic death of his daughter.
When the family does not stop pressing for a settlement that would bring in so much money, the protagonist refuses…
What about the education we can get with that sum?
This is exactly my point…I do not want the death of my child to be used and make it pay…
The result? I will not disclose it; I will only say that the family is very cruel.
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