Virginie Despentes' Vernon Subutex (Re: NP - Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (Netflix))

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

So much on Netflix to watch ...

But do people here still read novels?

I just read an excellent one by a French woman:
Vernon Subutex (I) by Virginie Despentes.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/02/vernon-subutex-1-by-virginie-despentes-review
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/vernon-subutex-1-by-virginie-despentes-translated-by-frank-wynne-review-one-of-the-books-of-the-year-if-not-the-decade-1.3249382

> ... Seldom has a novel with so much vicious humour and political intent also included moments of beautifully choreographed, unexpected tragedy. Bold and sophisticated, this thrilling, magnificently audacious picaresque is about France and is also about all of us; how loudly we shout, how badly we hurt ... <

" ... Versuch mal, das zu machen, was ich mache, du wirst sehen. Ich akkumuliere, ich visioniere, ich spekuliere, ich antizipiere, ich simuliere. Immer auf der Hut. Schlechte Nachricht für die Franzosen: Die Party ist OVER. Gehen Sie weiter, hier gibt's nichts mehr zu kaufen. Wir haben unsere Kühlschränke und Computer abgestoßen, jetzt nehmen wir die Lagerbestände und verkaufen woanders. Und? Was macht ihr außer rumheulen? Euch gegenseitig killen? Gute Idee. Wir haben Waffen im Angebot. Die Franzosen sind undankbare, arrogante Idioten. Sie grölen auf der Straße rum und fühlen sich wichtig. Pech für euch. Da, wo wir sind, hören wir euch nicht. Kein Pieps dringt an unsere Ohren. Die Sache ist gelaufen. Alles geklärt. Schwenkt ruhig eure Stimmzettelchen. Wir hören nichts, rein gar nichts ..." (pp. 224-225)

P.S. I like Pynchon's playful variation of the most famous line from A Streetcar Named Desire:

"I have always depended on the kindness of stranglers." (Bleeding Edge, p. 215)


Am 13.06.2018 um 03:07 schrieb David Morris:

As always with WA, there are lots of cringe moments.  We are meant to revel
in, or at least feel an awe for really bad behaviors: deceit and
selfishness stand at the font for our view.  It is not comedic.  It is a
story told well in many flashes back as the present unfolds.

It is also Allen's take on A Streetcar Named Desire, and it has lots of
anguish and passion for that effort.  The two sisters are the key players,
but in a more complex dance with more players.

Give it a shot.

David Morris
--
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