I normally don’t like comic novels, or absurd
ones. This one is a little different. This one is French.
I think writers can live off of one great idea,
in Pennac’s case his great idea is inventing a profession – the professional scapegoat
– that is so clearly essential in today’s society that I am actually quite
surprised it hasn’t become popular in the real world.
The Fairy Gunmother is about Paris, its multi-ethnic
identity (identities?), its ageing autochthon population, and the absurdity of
every-day life. The deaths are funny, although, probably, they shouldn’t be.
The police investigations are inconclusive, or lead to the wrong conclusion, as
they should be.
Not quite a masterpiece, this book remains an
excellent read for a lazy afternoon at home.
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