So You Don't Get Lost in the Neighborhood

July 6, 2015
A quietly haunting search for the truth—or at least for the facts—of a postwar French childhood, Nobel-winner Modiano’s novel spins out over a summer in which “everything is uncertain.” The quest begins with a phone call: elderly, isolated writer Jean Daragane has lost his address book on a train, and a man named Gilles Ottolini has found it. Ottolini offers to return the book, but when the two meet in a Paris cafe, he demands information about one of the people listed: Guy Torstel, whose name also appears in one of Jean’s early novels, Le Noir de l’été (The Black of Summer). Although he cannot immediately remember Torstel and is reluctant to engage with the outside world (“in his solitude, he had never felt so light-hearted”), Jean nevertheless finds himself reading through a dossier about a 1951 murder case, given to him by Gilles’s girlfriend, Chantal Grippay, and encountering in these papers names that were once familiar to him, including Torstel. Modiano’s text rewards the patient reader—as this time-hopping account of coincidences, uncertainties, and echoes of a half-forgotten history unfolds, “the present and the past merge together,” building toward a powerful, memorable conclusion.

Nobel Prize for Literature winner Modiano's recently translated work is a demanding novella. Narrator Bronson Pinchot's soft, clear voice and measured pacing allow the listener time to absorb the twists of plot and time that are major elements in this story of self-discovery. On the surface, the book focuses on reclusive French author Jean Darange and how the return of his lost address book triggers lost memories of his youth, including knowledge of a murder. But Modiano is renowned for the depth and complexity of his themes, plots, and characters, and this offering does not disappoint. Pinchot's deftness with accents and subtle modifications of tone highlights his portrayals of Modiano's multilayered characters. Listeners who enjoy a challenge will find this unique offering enjoyable. M.O.B. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine