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Jump to navigationJump to searchBird in a Cage by Frederic Dard and David Bellos (translator) (view source)
Revision as of 09:01, 7 August 2020
, 09:01, 7 August 2020no edit summary
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A man returns to the flat he grew up in and where his mother died without his knowledge, and finds it too desolate for the time of year it is – Christmas Eve. Bursting for more life, despite being a solitary character, he goes to a restaurant, and finds a connection with a mother with her daughter. They dine, then go to the cinema, and sit together, and things happen from there – in a gentle, no-pressure, no-names-no-packdrill pack drill way. If this isn't a reasonable start to a novella, consider the tag it has as a noir classic. And consider the fact the strange woman is the spitting image of the man's dead wife…
So, to cover those concerns in turn. Is this a novella? Definitely so. It can be read in well under two hours. A lot of the pages are blank space, with very short bursts of dialogue. Yes, when it's not attributed as here you get hiccups, but you also get the snap these proceedings deserve. And the book, by being terse, has the crackle (and, if you must, pop) you also seek…
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
That other author I mentioned above? He must stand as the further reading after Dard. He is [[:Category:Pascal Garnier|Pascal Garnier]] – notably, his book featuring a man back home for Christmas is completely different. You might also enjoy [[You Were Never Really Here by Jonathan Ames]].
{{toptentext|list=Top Ten Crime Novels 2016}}
