Von der Liebe, linken Händen und der Angst vor leeren Einkaufskörben

by Fred Vargas

Vom Sinn des Nichtstuns



Fred Vargas ist mit ihren literarischen Kriminalromanen um Kommissar Adamsberg weltberühmt geworden. Mit diesem charmanten Buch unternimmt sie den Versuch, das „monströse Knäuel des Lebens“ zu entwirren und den Schlüssel zum Glück zu finden: Nur wer das Unnötige schätzt, ist imstande, die Balance zu halten und einen direkten Draht zum Glück herzustellen. Eine hinreißende kleine Farbenlehre entwirft die Autorin zum Thema Liebe – und empfiehlt dringend, sich dabei nicht von der Angst vor leeren Einkaufskörben treiben zu lassen.



„Es gibt eine Magie Vargas.“ Le Monde

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, France

101 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of the French historian, archaeologist and writer Frédérique Audoin-Rouzeau (often mistakenly spelled "Audouin-Rouzeau"). She is the daughter of Philippe Audoin(-Rouzeau), a surrealist writer who was close to André Breton, and the sister of the historian Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, a noted specialist of the First World War who inspired her the character of Lucien Devernois.

Archeo-zoologist and historian by trade, she undertook a project on the epidemiology of the Black Death and bubonic plague, the result of which was a scientific work published in 2003 and still considered definitive in this research area: Les chemins de la peste : Le rat la puce et l'homme (Pest Roads).

As a novelist, Fred Vargas writes mostly crime stories. She found writing was a way to combine her interests and relax from her job as a scientist. Her novels are set in Paris and feature the adventures of Chief Inspector Adamsberg and his team. Her interest in the Middle Ages is manifest in many of her novels, especially through the person of Marc Vandoosler, a young specialist in the period.

She separated her public persona as a writer from her scientific persona by adopting the pseudonym Fred Vargas. "Fred" is the diminutive of her given name, Frédérique, while with "Vargas", she has chosen the same pseudonym than her twin sister, Jo Vargas (pseudonym of Joëlle Audoin-Rouzeau), a painter. For both sisters, the pseudonym "Vargas" derives from the Ava Gardner character in "The Barefoot Contessa".

Her crime fiction policiers have won three International Dagger Awards from the Crime Writers Association, for three successive novels: in 2006, 2008 and 2009. She is the first author to achieve such an honor. In each case her translator into English has been Sîan Leonard, who was also recognized by the international award.

Reviews

[Etienne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Publier un tel ramassie de naiseries de devrait même pas être légal. C'est une insulte de la part de l'auteur et de l'éditeur envers les lecteurs. L'auteur divague sur divers sujet, mais au fond, on passe plus de 120 pages à ne dire absolument rien. L'art d'écrire pour ne rien dire, serait un titre plus juste pour ce livre. Un déchet à éviter absolument!!

[Christiane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vielleicht ist es die Übersetzung, die das Buch so unfassbar unattraktiv macht?! Ich habe es nicht bis zum Ende gelesen...die Art und Weise mit der die Autorin den Leser anspricht war für mich nicht akzeptabel, abgesehen davon, dass ich die Intention (wenn es eine gab) nicht greifen konnte!

[Vampcruci · Rating 2 out of 5]

ovni

[Simona Moschini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Piango per gli alberi abbattuti per dare vita a questo libercolo (e al suo predecessore).

[Livia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preferisco quando scrive gialli.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light and funny! That's how I would describe it.

[Donata · Rating 3 out of 5]

All'inizio si stenta, il libro sembra girare a vuoto e la prosa sembra svilupparsi su se stessa. Poi però il ritmo ti incalza e la Vargas sfodera un deciso senso dell'umorismo. Si finisce per essere avvinti dal libretto e pronti ad imbarcarsi con lei nella folle avventura di una rivoluzione mondiale.

[Theut · Rating 1 out of 5]

Avevo letto commenti poco lusinghieri su questo libro... mi hanno fermata? No! E allora ben mi sta!
Un libro inutile di cui, a meno di 1 ora dalla sua lettura, non mi è rimasto nulla :|
Se la Vargas smettesse di scrivere di Adamsberg, però, il mondo sarebbe un posto meno divertente, quindi le si perdona quasi volentieri questo scivolone ;)

[Manuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

J'adore Vargas depuis toujours, mais je me serais passé sincèrement de cet ouvrage, plus un exercice de style de la langue française que autre chose. Pages pleins de mots pour rien dire et franchement l'envie d'en finir. Vive le prochain Adamsberg!

[incipit mania]

Incipit

Vi guardo, vi trovo bene, rilassati ...
Critica dell'ansia pura incipitmania.com