A Long-standing Quarrel
(Stephen Carriere)
Translation by: femme/300/15 August 2005
To write one's first novel is always very emotional and scary at the same time. One is afraid that he will not be read, or if that is not the case, that he will be cast into the court of great authors which always gives the impression that one is an officer, a kind of a trusty gentleman, at the Debutants' Ball.
All the same, this offers the advantage of observing some people whom one has never seen before.
And freshness is something good in literature.
He's among the newcomers.
Here's a young lad who has just succeded in pulling off a real coup. Very simply, we'd dare say.
His book is a circus story. It is not about circus games that grip our native contemporaries but about the real circus with its horse-drawn caravans and sad clowns. The argument is lucid and always repeats itself-it's the meaning behind the title of this book-the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns.
To make it simple, let's say that in the history of circus art there is always a young lad who shows up t announce to the old performers that they have become has-beens and that the old people's home is waiting for them. Here, the young boy is a brilliant robot designer swearing that he only does this for fun and so that he can market them.
One old performer, a marionette genius who is, necessarily, madly in love with his Pinocchio's thinks that the Battle of Hernani is not far off. But deep down, no one gives a damn about his exit from the circus. For in this novel-story, there is so much realist magic and it is so very much removed from what is done in France today. There is a wonderful kind of tenderness in this book and such a strong desire to caress the senses that one ends up wanting to give in to temptation. It is heavenly, subdued, and as light as a pirouette which expresses, "Balance-it's the feeling that one is in the right place."
Of course, one could indeed say that they have just discovered their calling. Welcome to the circus, then!
Resumos Relacionados
- The Butterfly Lion
- Elephant And Cycle Hero
- The Saga Of Darren Shan #11 Lord Of The Shadows
- The Vampire's Assistant
- A Tiger For Malgudi
|
|
