Bijou (vuoden 2014 painos)

As important as any Modiano I read. And they will soon be more. M. cannot be missed, his books gets to you and changes your life, thoughts and views on how life really exists in our memories and what we think we do and participate in. (Read a Swedish translation.) ( )

Like all of Modiano's books that I've read so far, this short novel is about someone who seems to be adrift in the world, in search of a missing parent. And full of atmospheric bits of Paris geography and weather and a general feeling of mid-20th-century Frenchness that belies its actual publication date.

As far Thérèse knows, her mother ran off to Morocco and died there many years ago, after dumping her with friends in the country. But she's just seen a woman in a yellow coat in the crowds at Châtelet métro station who looks exactly like the last photo she has. Against her better judgement, she follows the woman to an unwelcoming apartment building in a remote suburb, but she doesn't quite have the courage to accost her.

We soon learn that Thérèse has a very insecure grip on life, mostly focussed on trying to sort out her memories of childhood. Her job is to look after a (nameless) little girl whose parents show every sign of being as untrustworthy as her own (...and the author's); two people she's met attempt to help her, one of them a translator with two names that seem to be interchangeable, the other a pharmacist with no name, but she has trouble accepting support from either of them.

An unsettling view of the fragility of the human condition. Not a book to read just before going to bed... ( )

Therese crede di riconoscere in una donna sconosciuta la madre alla stazione Châtelet, una delle più affollate del métro parigino, La madre l'ha abbandonata da bambina affidandola ad un'amica e non è più tornata. Di lei Therese ha solo una fotografia e per anni l'ha ritenuta morta. "Bijou", così la chiamava la madre, inizia una tormentata ricerca della sconosciuta, ripercorrendo gli spazi della stazione, ogni giorno, sperando di incontrarla nuovamente. Ogni angolo di Parigi le suscita ricordi, frammenti del passato riemergono e alla topografia della città si sovrappone una mappa dell'animo di Therese alla ricerca di se stessa. ( )

Buena atrapante novela corta de modiano. las memorias de una mujer joven sobre su infancia y su madre que luego la abandona. el paris de la posguerra reciente.
introspectiva, en primera persona, va generando un clima atrapante, con un final tal vez no a la altura. Los temas de modiano, la guerra la cicatriz de la ocupación Nazi y tal vez los colaboradores ( )

Therese is 19 years old and already obsessed with her past. And no wonder...her mother was withdrawn, she never knew her father, and at a young age was sent to be raised by a friend of her mother's. She was told her mother died in Morocco. Then, she sees a woman in a yellow coat who she believes is her mother and follows her...trying to make sense of her memories.

At first, I found the mysteries and jumble of time lines intriguing, but as the story continued, they become tedious. I usually appreciate books where not everything is fully resolved...life's like that....but this author wasn't able to bring any sort of satisfactory ending to the story. But I still liked reading about Therese, which my rating reflects. ( )