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Café Unfiltered
"Finely drawn . . . charming and engrossing.” —Suzanne Vega, singer-songwriter At a classic café in the French provinces, anonymity, chance encounters, and traumatic pasts collide against the muted background of global instability. Jean-Philippe Blondel, author of the bestselling The 6:41 to Paris, presents a moving fresco of intertwined destinies portrayed with humor, insight, and tenderness. In the span of twenty-four hours, a medley of characters retrace the fading patterns of their lives after a long disruption from Covid. A mother and son realize their vast differences, a man takes tea with a childhood friend he had covertly fallen for, and a woman crosses paths with the ex who abandoned her in Australia. Amidst it all, the café swirls like a kaleidoscope, bringing together customers, waiters, and owners past and present. Within its walls and on its terrace, they examine the threads of their existence, laying bare their inner selves, their failed dreams, and their hopes for the uncertain future that awaits us all.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2022
17 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Jean-Philippe Blondel
40 books82 followersJean-Philippe Blondel was born in Troyes, France, in 1964. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father worked for the National Railways. Jean-Philippe still lives in Troyes today after attending university in Paris and travelling around the world, including South and Central America, Nepal, India, and most of Europe.
Writing has always been Jean-Philippe’s way of expressing himself. He started writing poems when he was seven, then moved on to short stories as a teen. He wrote his first novel when he was 19. One book that had a profound effect on him as a child was Alice in Wonderland: he tended to identify with the White Rabbit…
Jean-Philippe’s favorite subjects at school were languages: French, English, and Spanish. He remembers telling his parents, at the age of 12, that he wanted to be an English teacher, which he’s been for the last 20 years in a high school.
Since no one in his family was particularly interested in literature, Jean-Philippe often wonders how reading and writing took on so much importance in his life—and at such an early age. However, books became his life-support when, at the age of 17, he lost his mother and brother in a car crash, and his father in another crash four years later.
His novels—for adults, young adults, or teenagers—are always based on everyday life. He writes in the first person because he wants readers to identify closely with the narrator, whom he tries to portray as the person next door. His novella, A Place to Live (2010), takes place in a high school. It is a very special text for him and reading it aloud always evokes strong emotions. He dedicated it to a class which he taught for three years: he had so enjoyed watching his students grow up and evolve that he wanted to offer them something special when they graduated. He read it to them during their last period together, and even now, several years later, thinking about the moment moves him deeply.
Jean-Philippe writes with the earplugs of his MP3 player in. He carefully selects one song before writing, and it becomes the original soundtrack of the novel. He listens to it over and over, sometimes forgetting everything else, including where he is and what he’s doing there. It gives him the opportunity to live two lives at the same time—a fictitious one (because he so identifies with his narrators) and a real-life one. In the latter, he is married to a primary school teacher and has two daughters, aged 8 and 11. His favorite activities are teaching, writing, reading, and rock music. He is working on his eighth novel for adults, which also explores the boundaries between teenagers and “so-called” grown-ups.
Writing has always been Jean-Philippe’s way of expressing himself. He started writing poems when he was seven, then moved on to short stories as a teen. He wrote his first novel when he was 19. One book that had a profound effect on him as a child was Alice in Wonderland: he tended to identify with the White Rabbit…
Jean-Philippe’s favorite subjects at school were languages: French, English, and Spanish. He remembers telling his parents, at the age of 12, that he wanted to be an English teacher, which he’s been for the last 20 years in a high school.
Since no one in his family was particularly interested in literature, Jean-Philippe often wonders how reading and writing took on so much importance in his life—and at such an early age. However, books became his life-support when, at the age of 17, he lost his mother and brother in a car crash, and his father in another crash four years later.
His novels—for adults, young adults, or teenagers—are always based on everyday life. He writes in the first person because he wants readers to identify closely with the narrator, whom he tries to portray as the person next door. His novella, A Place to Live (2010), takes place in a high school. It is a very special text for him and reading it aloud always evokes strong emotions. He dedicated it to a class which he taught for three years: he had so enjoyed watching his students grow up and evolve that he wanted to offer them something special when they graduated. He read it to them during their last period together, and even now, several years later, thinking about the moment moves him deeply.
Jean-Philippe writes with the earplugs of his MP3 player in. He carefully selects one song before writing, and it becomes the original soundtrack of the novel. He listens to it over and over, sometimes forgetting everything else, including where he is and what he’s doing there. It gives him the opportunity to live two lives at the same time—a fictitious one (because he so identifies with his narrators) and a real-life one. In the latter, he is married to a primary school teacher and has two daughters, aged 8 and 11. His favorite activities are teaching, writing, reading, and rock music. He is working on his eighth novel for adults, which also explores the boundaries between teenagers and “so-called” grown-ups.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 11, 2023
*Happy Publication Day*
July 11, 2023
“It’s other people who captivate me. All the people my age, making their way, fearful or bold, convinced they’ve been through the most intense time in their life during these various lockdowns, and that they’re rediscovering a world that they’d taken for granted. I find them touching, and I envy them as well. Though you might not think it, I’d like to join in the dance again, too, but I’ve forgotten the steps.”
After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives in the post-pandemic era. After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives. Set in a classic café in the French provinces, Le Tom's, during current times, over the course of a single day, we are privy to the innermost thoughts of its patrons and the waiters and owners. We follow their most private thoughts as they ponder over how their lives have changed, the significant events and people they have left behind, how they are reframing their hopes and dreams, and how they perceive themselves, others and life in general after months of uncertainty and stagnancy.
Two estranged friends, one of whom is now an established writer and once harbored attraction for the other, meet after almost a lifetime with their own share of regrets and resentments. A mother of two grown-up children sits with her son and shares her decision to finally leave her family and embark on the life she always dreamed of. A waiter ponders his choice to move on and spread his wings. A woman encounters a former boyfriend from decades ago. Both the new owner and previous owner of the café reflect on events that led them to the present moment and concerns about the future. In the midst of it sits a young woman, who returned home during the pandemic and is yet to move on. She regularly visits the café, sits at the back and tries to capture life in the café in her sketches. Few of these characters interact with one another; some remain lost in their own thoughts or within their own circle. But the common element in all of their thoughts and interactions is how the past eighteen months have compelled them to reevaluate their priorities.
Café Unfiltered by Jean –Phillippe Blondel (translated by Alison Anderson) is a beautiful, quiet and intimate novel - one that inspires pause and reflection. Each of these characters is very well-written. The author does not go into the upsetting details of the pandemic but focuses on the post-pandemic period when life was slowly returning to normal, though the threat of newer threads of the virus was looming large which resulted in planning for the future in a more guarded, tentative and reserved manner. The characters in this novel are real and relatable and as we follow their stories, we feel invested in their lives and hope that things work out for them. The writing is crisp and concise, yet able to convey the thoughts and emotions of the characters eloquently. Overall, this is a slow-paced, contemplative novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Many thanks to author Jean –Phillippe Blondel and publisher New Vessel Press for granting access to a digital review copy of this novel via Edelweiss+. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
July 11, 2023
“It’s other people who captivate me. All the people my age, making their way, fearful or bold, convinced they’ve been through the most intense time in their life during these various lockdowns, and that they’re rediscovering a world that they’d taken for granted. I find them touching, and I envy them as well. Though you might not think it, I’d like to join in the dance again, too, but I’ve forgotten the steps.”
After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives in the post-pandemic era. After eighteen months of shelter-in-place, lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and much more, people are figuring out how to restore a semblance of normalcy to their lives. Set in a classic café in the French provinces, Le Tom's, during current times, over the course of a single day, we are privy to the innermost thoughts of its patrons and the waiters and owners. We follow their most private thoughts as they ponder over how their lives have changed, the significant events and people they have left behind, how they are reframing their hopes and dreams, and how they perceive themselves, others and life in general after months of uncertainty and stagnancy.
Two estranged friends, one of whom is now an established writer and once harbored attraction for the other, meet after almost a lifetime with their own share of regrets and resentments. A mother of two grown-up children sits with her son and shares her decision to finally leave her family and embark on the life she always dreamed of. A waiter ponders his choice to move on and spread his wings. A woman encounters a former boyfriend from decades ago. Both the new owner and previous owner of the café reflect on events that led them to the present moment and concerns about the future. In the midst of it sits a young woman, who returned home during the pandemic and is yet to move on. She regularly visits the café, sits at the back and tries to capture life in the café in her sketches. Few of these characters interact with one another; some remain lost in their own thoughts or within their own circle. But the common element in all of their thoughts and interactions is how the past eighteen months have compelled them to reevaluate their priorities.
Café Unfiltered by Jean –Phillippe Blondel (translated by Alison Anderson) is a beautiful, quiet and intimate novel - one that inspires pause and reflection. Each of these characters is very well-written. The author does not go into the upsetting details of the pandemic but focuses on the post-pandemic period when life was slowly returning to normal, though the threat of newer threads of the virus was looming large which resulted in planning for the future in a more guarded, tentative and reserved manner. The characters in this novel are real and relatable and as we follow their stories, we feel invested in their lives and hope that things work out for them. The writing is crisp and concise, yet able to convey the thoughts and emotions of the characters eloquently. Overall, this is a slow-paced, contemplative novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Many thanks to author Jean –Phillippe Blondel and publisher New Vessel Press for granting access to a digital review copy of this novel via Edelweiss+. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
May 14, 2024
J’ai fini de lire Café sans filtre dans un café. J’ai bouclé la boucle.
J’ai beaucoup aimé. J’en veux encore. Il manque encore quelques pages selon moi. La deuxième moitié est moins développée et lente que la première, c’est dommage.
C’est aussi la première fois que je lis un livre dans lequel le covid et le confinement ont existé. C’était intelligemment utilisé, et ça brouillait la frontière entre la fiction et la réalité.
Bonne découverte.
J’ai beaucoup aimé. J’en veux encore. Il manque encore quelques pages selon moi. La deuxième moitié est moins développée et lente que la première, c’est dommage.
C’est aussi la première fois que je lis un livre dans lequel le covid et le confinement ont existé. C’était intelligemment utilisé, et ça brouillait la frontière entre la fiction et la réalité.
Bonne découverte.
August 31, 2023
Engaging and quite charming set piece from the author of Exposed and The 6:41 to Paris. Table by table, from the early breakfast customers to the following dawn, we meet the denizens of Le Tom's, a café in a middle-sized French provincial town. In each chapter, the table's occupant describes themselves, who they are, what they might be doing there that day - from a seemingly rootless young woman who sits in a booth and sketches all day, to a middle-aged man waiting to meet an old friend from his youth about whom he has long had conflicted feelings, a self-regarding young man meeting his rather dreary old mother, the surly bar man. As the day progresses, the young man leaves in a huff and we get to hear his mother's side of things; the man visiting his old friend comes with a poignant and reflective agenda of his own; the current owner of the cafe (who seems to be under the thumb of the surly barman); and finally, the aging woman who used to own the place. Most of them at some point suspect the young woman artist might be drawing them - but is she? They begin to talk to each other, eliciting scraps of each other's stories, plans, and possibilities.
It's an affectionate portrait of that irreplaceable French institution, the café. Blondel has expanded from his previous forays into the interior monologues and musings of individuals into a polyphonic tale. Some sections are more effective than others, but their stories interweave skillfully enough that more than once, I went back to a previous chapter to find the whispers of another perspective were indeed there. What appeared to be animosity is actually a complicated fondness and protectiveness; one entrapment into isolation grew from way too much entanglement; another's selfishness has blinded them to someone else's pain. Blondel's humanity and basic kindness redeems people's failings, and leaves you wishing you had a Le Tom's in your neighborhood.
Once again, New Vessel Press's mission of lovely translated work has given us a gem. More Blondel, please!
UPDATE: Watermark Books in Wichita, KS hosted a Zoom book club discussion with Blondel on August 29, 2023. It was an absolute delight. Blondel teaches English to high schoolers in France; his English, good humor, engagement, and openness to chat was all marvelous. He revealed that he wrote this novel while hospitalized for another serious illness during the Covid lockdown: sick, isolated, no visitors allowed - it gave him distraction, company, and a way to live among his imagined people gathering, talking, and being together. He laughed about students of his who didn't believe that yes, he's the Jean-Philippe Blondel who's written books in their school library (he has written several young adult books), and who now tease him about their behavior maybe ending up in one of his books (and he warns them: yes, maybe it will, so cut it out!). Just a warm, affable, approachable fellow whose books you can't help but want to read.
It's an affectionate portrait of that irreplaceable French institution, the café. Blondel has expanded from his previous forays into the interior monologues and musings of individuals into a polyphonic tale. Some sections are more effective than others, but their stories interweave skillfully enough that more than once, I went back to a previous chapter to find the whispers of another perspective were indeed there. What appeared to be animosity is actually a complicated fondness and protectiveness; one entrapment into isolation grew from way too much entanglement; another's selfishness has blinded them to someone else's pain. Blondel's humanity and basic kindness redeems people's failings, and leaves you wishing you had a Le Tom's in your neighborhood.
Once again, New Vessel Press's mission of lovely translated work has given us a gem. More Blondel, please!
UPDATE: Watermark Books in Wichita, KS hosted a Zoom book club discussion with Blondel on August 29, 2023. It was an absolute delight. Blondel teaches English to high schoolers in France; his English, good humor, engagement, and openness to chat was all marvelous. He revealed that he wrote this novel while hospitalized for another serious illness during the Covid lockdown: sick, isolated, no visitors allowed - it gave him distraction, company, and a way to live among his imagined people gathering, talking, and being together. He laughed about students of his who didn't believe that yes, he's the Jean-Philippe Blondel who's written books in their school library (he has written several young adult books), and who now tease him about their behavior maybe ending up in one of his books (and he warns them: yes, maybe it will, so cut it out!). Just a warm, affable, approachable fellow whose books you can't help but want to read.
August 16, 2023
I think this is the first book I’ve read that is about daily life post pandemic. Set in a cafe and explores the relearning of in person human connection. Should have resonated more with me than it did considering I worked in a bar post pandemic. Something was off. Too many characters and not enough fleshing of them out maybe?
November 14, 2022
Mignonnet mais pas transcendant
September 18, 2022
Un livre qui se lirait bien en terrasse de café: unité de lieu et de temps sur 24h, dans la période post-COVID, des destinées s’échangent et se croisent … un concept original qui en fait toute la fraîcheur et la simplicité efficace pour une pause agréable !
April 9, 2024
With a degree of trepidation, the customers of Le Tom cafe are returning after a long absence due to the Covid 19 pandemic. There’s a very simple premise, as Blondel observes several individual customers over the course of one day, though a series of inner monologues charts their past.
As in The 6:41 to Paris, Blondel’s style is to tell a gentle tale, though here it is so gentle as to barely stick in your mind for any longer than a few minutes.
It’s all pleasant enough, but is in need of something a bit more to make it grip.
As in The 6:41 to Paris, Blondel’s style is to tell a gentle tale, though here it is so gentle as to barely stick in your mind for any longer than a few minutes.
It’s all pleasant enough, but is in need of something a bit more to make it grip.
July 17, 2025
un roman qui m'a beaucoup plu car 1. il se passe dans ma ville 2. j'adore les différents points de vue et la façon dont le roman est construit en suivant les heures de la journée 3. les personnages étaient super intéressants
petite pépite ❤️☕
petite pépite ❤️☕
March 29, 2023
Génial !
August 23, 2023
très très simple
September 7, 2024
Une lecture rafraîchissante ♡
December 11, 2023
Je ne suis pas allée au bout...
September 4, 2023
Cafe Unfiltered is the loveliest of books that feels like having coffee or a drink with good friends.
I will now find everything written by Jean-Philippe Blondel and read it.
Thank you Three Lives & Co, for displaying it on the front table exactly where I would wander in and find it.
I will now find everything written by Jean-Philippe Blondel and read it.
Thank you Three Lives & Co, for displaying it on the front table exactly where I would wander in and find it.
March 11, 2025
This book is all about the setting: Le Tom’s, a cafe in a small university town; the summer of 2021, when the world is weary of COVID restrictions and lockdowns, just venturing out again, but gingerly; one long day, with unsettled weather.
The “story” is told through a series of interior monologues, in which conversation occasionally breaks through. There a few customers, who get their moment, but the main four characters are a young woman named Chloe, who spends the entire day in the cafe, drawing and observing; a waiter named Jose and the manager Fabrice, who are 31, the same age as Chloe, and friends since adolescence; and Jocelyn, a 71 year old woman who is the owner of the cafe, but has retired and left Fabrice in charge.
Restlessness and incipient change characterises most of the monologues and encounters in the cafe. The characters are on the verge of changing their lives, or they are contemplating change - except for, perhaps, Fabrice.
I wish that I could put my finger on what makes this novel seem French, even though I read it in the translated English and such cafe scenes could exist almost anywhere. There is a lot of description; perhaps too much. These are sketches in the end; an overheard conversation, perhaps interesting in the moment but quickly forgotten. While it was a fairly painless read, it didn’t really engage me. It was a quick read, but I wanted it to end from almost the beginning. I also noted that the uncertainties of 2021 - and that pervasive feeling that life would never feel the same - have dissipated in a way that none of could have imagined at the time. It makes me the book feel strangely dated, despite taken place only a few years ago.
2.5 stars
The “story” is told through a series of interior monologues, in which conversation occasionally breaks through. There a few customers, who get their moment, but the main four characters are a young woman named Chloe, who spends the entire day in the cafe, drawing and observing; a waiter named Jose and the manager Fabrice, who are 31, the same age as Chloe, and friends since adolescence; and Jocelyn, a 71 year old woman who is the owner of the cafe, but has retired and left Fabrice in charge.
Restlessness and incipient change characterises most of the monologues and encounters in the cafe. The characters are on the verge of changing their lives, or they are contemplating change - except for, perhaps, Fabrice.
I wish that I could put my finger on what makes this novel seem French, even though I read it in the translated English and such cafe scenes could exist almost anywhere. There is a lot of description; perhaps too much. These are sketches in the end; an overheard conversation, perhaps interesting in the moment but quickly forgotten. While it was a fairly painless read, it didn’t really engage me. It was a quick read, but I wanted it to end from almost the beginning. I also noted that the uncertainties of 2021 - and that pervasive feeling that life would never feel the same - have dissipated in a way that none of could have imagined at the time. It makes me the book feel strangely dated, despite taken place only a few years ago.
2.5 stars
October 25, 2025
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: An ode to the French café as a magical place, portrayed by a beloved author with humanity, insight, and tenderness.
At a classic café in the French provinces, anonymity, chance encounters, and traumatic pasts collide against the muted background of global instability. Jean-Philippe Blondel, author of the bestselling The 6:41 to Paris, presents a moving fresco of intertwined destinies. In the span of twenty-four hours, a medley of characters retrace the fading patterns of their lives after a long disruption from Covid.
A mother and son realize their vast differences, a man takes tea with a childhood friend he had once covertly fallen for, and a woman crosses paths with the ex who abandoned her in Australia. Amidst it all, the café swirls like a kaleidoscope, bringing together customers, waiters, and owners past and present. Within its walls and on its terrace, they examine the threads of their existence, laying bare their inner selves, their failed dreams, and their hopes for the uncertain future that awaits us all.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: What I loved about this read was its episodic, character-sketch nature; its acceptance of the complexity of human love; and its just-post-COVID sense of reopening, opening up, becoming open to life.
What I was less excited by was the scattershot feeling of wanting more than I got about the people I was ready to love; the not-its-fault datedness of the planet-wide post-COVID intake of breath; and its more ornamental prose bits (not the whole book, I hasten to say).
New Vessel Press requests $17.95 for any edition you care to read. It's a lovely, peaceful, easy-to-love cafe I'd be a regular at.
The Publisher Says: An ode to the French café as a magical place, portrayed by a beloved author with humanity, insight, and tenderness.
At a classic café in the French provinces, anonymity, chance encounters, and traumatic pasts collide against the muted background of global instability. Jean-Philippe Blondel, author of the bestselling The 6:41 to Paris, presents a moving fresco of intertwined destinies. In the span of twenty-four hours, a medley of characters retrace the fading patterns of their lives after a long disruption from Covid.
A mother and son realize their vast differences, a man takes tea with a childhood friend he had once covertly fallen for, and a woman crosses paths with the ex who abandoned her in Australia. Amidst it all, the café swirls like a kaleidoscope, bringing together customers, waiters, and owners past and present. Within its walls and on its terrace, they examine the threads of their existence, laying bare their inner selves, their failed dreams, and their hopes for the uncertain future that awaits us all.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: What I loved about this read was its episodic, character-sketch nature; its acceptance of the complexity of human love; and its just-post-COVID sense of reopening, opening up, becoming open to life.
What I was less excited by was the scattershot feeling of wanting more than I got about the people I was ready to love; the not-its-fault datedness of the planet-wide post-COVID intake of breath; and its more ornamental prose bits (not the whole book, I hasten to say).
New Vessel Press requests $17.95 for any edition you care to read. It's a lovely, peaceful, easy-to-love cafe I'd be a regular at.
April 10, 2024
Enfin, le confinement s'achève, enfin le plaisir de franchir le seuil d'un café, d'y commander une consommation ...
Chloe a fait du Tom's sa seconde maison. Il est 9h , elle est déjà là table 8 près de la baie vitrée , au fond de la salle, ses crayons et ses feuilles posées devant elle . Elle observe.
José , le serveur, bougonne, et n'apprécie " cette parasite"..
Peu à peu quelques clients s'installent , chacun porteur de son histoire, de son vécu, de son présent et peut-être de son avenir.
Jacques , le patron, arrive un peu plus tard ...;
et voilà c'est tout me direz vous? C'est que vous ne connaissez pas encore le talent de Jean-Philippe Blondel .
Par petites touches, avec finesse, délicatesse et empathie il nous brosse leur portrait , les laisse s'exprimer à tour de rôle .. et "comme d'habitude" je suis happée par l'écriture de J-P Blondel . Que voulez vous j'apprécie cet auteur et quand j'apprécie je le dis et le proclame .
Chloe a fait du Tom's sa seconde maison. Il est 9h , elle est déjà là table 8 près de la baie vitrée , au fond de la salle, ses crayons et ses feuilles posées devant elle . Elle observe.
José , le serveur, bougonne, et n'apprécie " cette parasite"..
Peu à peu quelques clients s'installent , chacun porteur de son histoire, de son vécu, de son présent et peut-être de son avenir.
Jacques , le patron, arrive un peu plus tard ...;
et voilà c'est tout me direz vous? C'est que vous ne connaissez pas encore le talent de Jean-Philippe Blondel .
Par petites touches, avec finesse, délicatesse et empathie il nous brosse leur portrait , les laisse s'exprimer à tour de rôle .. et "comme d'habitude" je suis happée par l'écriture de J-P Blondel . Que voulez vous j'apprécie cet auteur et quand j'apprécie je le dis et le proclame .
December 23, 2022
Un livre que j'ai trouvé très doux. Très simple, mais très humain. On découvre la vie de plusieurs personnes qui se croisent dans un bar, qui vont interagir et créer ou renforcer des liens. Je n'ai pas trouvé que l'on pouvait vraiment s'attacher aux personnages, car au final il n'y a pas tant de temps que ça pour chacun, mais j'ai quand même ressentie de la sympathie pour tous. J'ai trouvé sympa d'avoir différentes perspectives : un personnage parle de ce qu'il pense qu'un autre pense, et ensuite cet autre explique ce qu'il ou elle pense vraiment.
Des histoires différentes, mais en même temps similaires en certains points. Des histoires de personnes normales comme vous et moi, des points dans lesquels on peut se retrouver. J'ai trouvé que la fin était pleine d'espoir, d'espoir pour un futur meilleur pour tous, ensemble ou pas.
Des histoires différentes, mais en même temps similaires en certains points. Des histoires de personnes normales comme vous et moi, des points dans lesquels on peut se retrouver. J'ai trouvé que la fin était pleine d'espoir, d'espoir pour un futur meilleur pour tous, ensemble ou pas.
May 16, 2022
C’est sans doute le premier roman post covid que je lis qui aborde de biais la période des confinements et leurs sorties par la réouverture des cafés, réouverture sur la vie, le monde, les interactions sociales comme on dit.
Dans ce café de province, le Tom’s, en intérieur ou en terrasse, se succèdent quelques personnages, de passage ou habitués comme Chloé qui vient désormais y dessiner toute la journée, mais aussi le patron, son employé, la propriétaire précédente.
On retrouve avec bonheur ces tranches de vie dans lesquelles Blondel excelle quand il s’agit d’aborder l’intime ; certains personnages sont plus touchants que d’autres, chacun y verra une résonance personnelle avec l’un plus qu’un autre, mais tous sont à un moment de croisement, de changement dans leur vie, amoureuse, professionnelle, tous nous ouvrent leurs souvenirs ou le pourquoi de leur état présent.
J’ai aimé Chloé, Guillaume et surtout sa mère Françoise, Thibault et Pierre (doubles de l’auteur ?), quand Jocelyne, Fabrice et José m’ont laissée indifférente.
Que vous avaliez ce café en terrasse ou le dégustiez sur une chaise longue au soleil, ou encore sous un plaid avec une tasse de thé au fond du canapé, vous y retrouverez le Blondel des bons moments (il s’était un peu égaré à mon goût ces dernières années), celui des petits riens et des amours passées, une douce nostalgie et un sourire au coin des lèvres aujourd’hui.
Dans ce café de province, le Tom’s, en intérieur ou en terrasse, se succèdent quelques personnages, de passage ou habitués comme Chloé qui vient désormais y dessiner toute la journée, mais aussi le patron, son employé, la propriétaire précédente.
On retrouve avec bonheur ces tranches de vie dans lesquelles Blondel excelle quand il s’agit d’aborder l’intime ; certains personnages sont plus touchants que d’autres, chacun y verra une résonance personnelle avec l’un plus qu’un autre, mais tous sont à un moment de croisement, de changement dans leur vie, amoureuse, professionnelle, tous nous ouvrent leurs souvenirs ou le pourquoi de leur état présent.
J’ai aimé Chloé, Guillaume et surtout sa mère Françoise, Thibault et Pierre (doubles de l’auteur ?), quand Jocelyne, Fabrice et José m’ont laissée indifférente.
Que vous avaliez ce café en terrasse ou le dégustiez sur une chaise longue au soleil, ou encore sous un plaid avec une tasse de thé au fond du canapé, vous y retrouverez le Blondel des bons moments (il s’était un peu égaré à mon goût ces dernières années), celui des petits riens et des amours passées, une douce nostalgie et un sourire au coin des lèvres aujourd’hui.
March 31, 2022
J'ai été agréablement surprise par ce livre. Le concept est assez simple mais efficace : nous suivons durant une journée de l'été 2021, le quotidien type d'un café d'une ville française moyenne, suivant le point de vue des différentes personnes qui sont amenées à fréquenter le lieu, clients comme gérants.
L'accent est mis sur le bouleversement qu'à entrainé la pandémie et les confinements sur la vie des personnages, le contraste entre la vie d'avant et la vie d'après, mais aussi tout autre sorte d'aléas de le vie qui les ont conduit à se retrouver ici et maintenant.
Le style est très agréable, fluide, et les voix des personnages très bien réalisées.
L'accent est mis sur le bouleversement qu'à entrainé la pandémie et les confinements sur la vie des personnages, le contraste entre la vie d'avant et la vie d'après, mais aussi tout autre sorte d'aléas de le vie qui les ont conduit à se retrouver ici et maintenant.
Le style est très agréable, fluide, et les voix des personnages très bien réalisées.
January 10, 2025
Really liked the idea, especially because it was the first book I read which includes Covid and lockdowns in the story. I liked the amount of different lives and worlds one got to explore via the cafe visitors. The thing that bugged me was that the book ended up focusing a lot on the four main characters, which for me did not fit to the snapshot/short story-like set-up. I would have preferred if the book spent a similar amount of time with each character - I would have also found it intriguing to learn less about the main characters to leave more to the reader’s imagination
September 16, 2024
The chapters alternate between the people who inhabit this local café and the conceit works. As you get to know the characters (some more than others) Blondel creates a little world...and if you are looking for a little hope these days, the ending pays off.
You will not go wrong picking up any of Blondel's work.
You will not go wrong picking up any of Blondel's work.
October 7, 2025
A quick read that draws you in immediately. Didn’t want to put it down…felt like I needed to know where each character’s story was going and how they were all going to entwine. Gave it a 4 bc I was expecting more from the ending. Anyhow, it was well written and was like having a coffee with friends.
September 1, 2023
Un joli livre; chaque histoire constitue comme une petite nouvelle, qu’on pourrait lire presque individuellement pour certaine, sans que le style soit rébarbatif (variation de tons, discours direct et indirects…). Mais arrivé à un point, le système narratif se délite et on s’ennuie un peu…
July 23, 2024
Plutôt un 4.5 , c'est un super roman agréable à lire, bien écrit, les personnages ont tous un lien, il y a de l'humour et j'aime bien que l'on suive le cours de leurs pensées. Ils sont tous particuliers et ont une histoire qui leurs sont propres.
May 1, 2025
« On n'entend que le bruit du percolateur et, en sourdine, la radio qui diffuse un titre que je retrouve instantanément. The Verve. “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. Une symphonie douce-amère. Entre nous, il y a davantage d'amertume que de douceur, mais cela n'a plus aucune importance. »
August 3, 2022
Bon moment. Personnages attachants, une idée de l’après- confinement. Le personnage de Chloé et son histoire pourraient faire l’objet d’un autre roman, peut-être…
Lecture idéale pour l’été.
Lecture idéale pour l’été.
August 19, 2022
Super rafraîchissant et une lecture parfaite pour l'été ou même les vacances 🌞
February 1, 2023
Une lecture très simple mais tellement agréable.
June 13, 2023
Très belle surprise, ce livre !
June 15, 2023
trop trop bien même si j'ai pas trop vu le thème du bonheur pour le club lecture
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