I fond this book in the reduced section of my local Waterstones. I knew nothing about the writer, just that the blurb sounded interesting, it was quite short and it was only a couple of quid.
I've genuinely only just noticed the three faces in that cover art and that's freaking me out a little.
This is translated from the French by George Miller. He deserves credit for his work here.
The story tells of 12 year old best friends Theo and Mattis, who, like all childhood BFFs, keep each other's secrets, and they share a particularly troublesome one.
Two more central characters are Helene, the boys' teacher, and Cecile, the mter of Matthis. Helene suspects there is something wrong with Theo but has no idea what. Cecile dislikes Theo intensely, she thinks he's a bad influence on her son, but she has her own problems with a recent discovery she made about her husband (not a cliche affair, something much worse).
This is not a happy book. this is not a book that will see you through the dark evenings with a happy chuckle. All these characters are lost. none of them can cope with their lives. Helene's quest to help Theo could end her career. Theo's home life is the definition of miserable and he is desperate for a way out, any way out that he can manage. Cecile's world is falling down around her. And Matthis finds himself unwilling accomplice to Theo's plans.
I raced through this book in just over a day. It's a compulsive read. George Miller has made a fine job of the translation. His prose is brisk and emotive without ever straying into sentimentality. We're presented with these broken lives and left to decide our own feelings.
My only complaint about this book is the ending. It just seems to stop without truly resolving anything. However, when I make this criticism, I'm reminded of when Gordy tells the story of Lardass Hogan in Stephen King's the Body (filmed as Stand By Me). The other characters say "that was great, but what happens next" which really pisses young Gordy off, the story ended where it needed to.
I can understand why the book finishes where it does (sort of). I'm just annoyed because I want to know what happens next. There's a lot up in the air. She's left me wanting to read more. That's normally a good thing. But in this case, maybe I wanted something more definitive as a close to the story than what we have here.
In conclusion, great book, not sure about the ending... either 7 or 8 out of 10.
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