Man Who Wanted to Drink Up the Sea

by Pan Bouyoucas

How far would you go to make amends? Lukas, a successful Montreal restaurateur, is haunted by the memory of his first love, Zephira. He wants to ask her to forgive him for abandoning her back in Greece forty years ago. But the girl has died. When Lukas recalls that for the ancient Greeks the sleeper's mind was the bridge where the living and the dead met at night, he embarks on a fantastic journey through an underworld populated by ghosts from his present and past, including his dead parents, his boyhood friend Aris and his gradeschool arch-enemy Nestor; with cameos from Marilyn Monroe, and the Goddess Artemis.

Paperback

First published August 25, 2005

Reviews

[Pierre Van Eeckhout · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'ai d'abord pris ce livre pour le titre. Ça commence bien, c'est drôle, simple, sans prétention et imaginatif. Vers le chapitre 12 j'ai eu une crainte. J'espérais que le reste des chapitres ne soient pas seulement remplis d'élucubrations oniriques sans véritable tension, climax ou sens. Il y a eu un creux de lecture où j'ai failli abandonné, mais le dernier quart rachète les doutes et l'intrigue reprend de plus bel, le suspense est au rendez-vous et la chute est douce et symbolique. Très bien maîtrisé.
Lukas, un homme de 58 ans se sent coupable d'avoir abandonné Zéphira, son amour de jeunesse, sur une plage. Après un premier rêve, où il l'a revoit il investigue un peu et apprend qu'elle est morte. Il alors prend un somnifère pour aller la rencontrer au pays de rêve et lui demander pardon. Mais réussira-t-il à la retrouver alors qu'il s'endort dans sa voiture après avoir pris le somnifère et allumé le moteur de la voiture pour se garder au chaud ?

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are similarities here to Homer's Odyssey and even Alice's adventures. It's a mix of myth and superstition, and very fast paced. The writing flows smoothly and with humour, and you get carried along in Lukas' wake, with no more clue about what's going to happen next than he himself. I think the fun for some people in reading this book would be to spot the myth, yet it's still very original. It's also a quick read, set as it is in the space of a single night as Lukas slips into a coma, and nothing is stretched out or filled in, there's no lengthy, overly-descriptive paragraphs or flowery writing. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read that still lingers in my mind.