Fire: A review of the book called Delicacy
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Delicacy
David Foenikos
Novel, originally in French
250 pages
Why did I pick this up?
First, the title is intriguing.
Second, the cover says it was made into a film starring Audrey
Tautou. Third, it's something new to me, a modern fiction novel
translated from French to English. Fourth, it's sold in a bargain
price. Fifth, I am in my element to read a fiction.
My verdict?
I like the fast-paced writing style of
the writer (He has 115 chapters for 250 pages, no wonder) . He
introduced me to the characters like introducing them in a
speeddating: only fast and essential facts are needed. Although the
delicacy of the characters
were not understood immediately in the book until
one reaches two-thirds of it, one cannot stop but delight in the
development of the story.
It
started with a serious note: marriage bliss of Natalie which was
abruptly ended by death of her husband Francois and her mourning.
Then the story continued with one mysterious act that set the
dominoes in motion: one kiss to an unknown coworker named Markus
initiated by Natalie. Then all throughout the ending, the delicacy of
Natalie, Markus and Charles was unfolding beautifully and with
clarity. It's worth the wait, despite I said at the start that the
writer has a fast-paced writing style.
There
are minor breaches of consistency in the exposure of characters.
Despite the lack of explanation as to why Natalie was suddenly
prized for her pretty face in the middle of the pages when half of
the book did not mention that and despite the annoying and slow
exposure of the character of Charles who was in fact a man-in-waiting
from the start and suddenly described as a womanizer in the end, the
story is unfolding pleasantly and consistently with its title.
The notes and lists of the writer
between chapters are a few times helpful and insightful but they were
always intrusive and I want to skip them all the time. With this
style, he is putting too much salt.
What I cannot skip mentioning here is
that the writer's reference to European places or nationalities to
describe someone or something. Although I am not smart about it, I
find them endearing, in a way (I just don't know whether Swedes will
object). He described Natalie as private, a kind of Swiss femininity
(culturally, I can't imagine what he was saying but still I find
this rather amusing). The writer mused through Markus that “childhood
in Sweden is like old age in Switzerland” (again, I can only
surmise). Also, he said through Natalie that Markus has a touch of
“the East”; it was like Romania and Poland in Sweden (Again, I
need to google to find out: was it about culture or geography?).
Uppsala is a Swedish city that doesn't interest people; the
inhabitants themselves are embarassed. It was like United States
inviting Liechtenstein to lunch. And many more.
Lastly, Chapter 20 can be omitted; 47
is ridiculous a tale. I love pages 248 (last paragraph) to 249 which
was of course followed by my favorite chapter in page 250.
Any lines to remember?
Here are some of them that I highlighted with a colored pencil:
...but Natalie was living in the
peculiar ether of monogamy. Sorry: of love. The love that annihilates
all other men, but also any objectivity about seduction attempts.
Can you keep reading a book interrupted
by the death of your husband?
Delicacy. 2. showing fragility.
Delicate crystal.
Mourning possesses a double-edged
power, an uncompromising power that propels everything as much toward
the necessity for change as toward the morbid temptation to stay
faithful to the past.
***
This kiss was like modern art.
We're not masters of our biological
clock.
Our bilogical clock isn't rational.
It's like an unhappy love affair: you don't know when you'll get over
it.
***
How can you go to dreamland when you'd
just left it?
Life can be beautiful when you
understand the inconveniences of being born.
Dictionaries stop where the heart
starts.
***
Do you know the real source of
strength? The kiss, the kiss alone!... The kiss is only a preface,
however... Excerpt from “The Kiss,” a story by Guy Maupassant
But he was familiar with strange facts
of life, with strokes of luck, coincidences. The evidence that made
you doubt rationality.
Any extra thumb up for this book?
I wonder how this turned out in the
movie screen.
Oh, I am curious about the film. Anything with Audrey Taotou on it, I'll be interested. I like reading books set abroad (not in US, too) especially in Europe. And I get the gist of the cultural nuances somehow particularly with Eastern Europe, though I can't seem to lay it out eloquently cause it's like something subtle by feel. :)
ReplyDeleteSÃ me here, i like tautou.
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