The Suicide Shop

September 15, 2013

The Tuvache family has a lucrative business selling their customers every imaginable device for committing suicide. A few centuries in the future, when environmental catastrophe is an everyday occurrence, most people are desperate and looking for assured methods with which to end their lives. However, to the Tuvaches' horror, Alan, the newest member of the family, is born with a joyous disposition and an impish desire to bring happiness into the lives of his family and the morose customers of the Suicide Shop. In a style reminiscent of Charles Addams's cartoons about his macabre Addams Family, Teule, a French author and filmmaker, creates this blackly humorous story with a delicate touch as Alan's influence reaches even the most hardened family members. VERDICT While Teule writes in a comedic style and much of this novella (which has been turned into a successful animated film) is charming, this book is not recommended for readers who have experienced the suicide of a family member or friend. With its ambiguous ending, this title is only for lovers of extremely black comedy. It will appeal to those who enjoyed Chuck Palahniuk's Survivor or Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and to Charles Addams's fans. [Gallic Books is a six-year-old British publisher specializing in French literature.--Ed.]--Andrea Kempf, formerly with Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

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