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La Consolante
Deux femmes, un homme qui va boitillant de l’une à l’autre et plein de gamins tout autour. « Charles est un homme qui tombe amoureux à un moment de sa vie où il ne s’y attendait plus et où, probablement, il ne l’espérait plus. »
627 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 20, 2013
136 people are currently reading
1642 people want to read
About the author
Anna Gavalda
84 books1,766 followersAnna Gavalda is a French teacher and award-winning novelist.
Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part" that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book was translated into numerous languages including in English and sold in twenty-seven countries. It was published to acclaim in North America in 2003 as "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere." The book received much praise and is a library and school selection worldwide in several languages.
Gavalda's first novel, Je l'aimais (Someone I Loved) was published in France in February 2002 and later that year in English. Inspired by the failure of her own marriage, it too was a major literary success and a bestseller and was followed by the short (96 pages) juvenile novel 35 kilos d'espoir (95 Pounds of Hope) that she said she wrote "to pay tribute to those of my students who were dunces in school but otherwise fantastic people".
In 2004, her third novel, "Ensemble c'est tout," focused on the lives of four people living in an apartment house: a struggling young artist who works as an office cleaner at night, a young aristocrat misfit, a cook, and an elderly grandmother. The 600-page book is a bestseller in France and has been translated into English as Hunting and Gathering.
As of 2007, her three books have sold more than 3 million copies in France. Ensemble c'est tout was made into a successful movie in 2007 by Claude Berri, with Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. The adaptation of her first novel, Je l'aimais, with Daniel Auteuil and Marie-Josée Croze, was filmed in 2009 by Zabou Breitman.
Divorced, and the mother of two, Gavalda lives in the city of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, about 50 km southeast of Paris. In addition to writing novels, she also contributes to Elle magazine.
Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part" that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book was translated into numerous languages including in English and sold in twenty-seven countries. It was published to acclaim in North America in 2003 as "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere." The book received much praise and is a library and school selection worldwide in several languages.
Gavalda's first novel, Je l'aimais (Someone I Loved) was published in France in February 2002 and later that year in English. Inspired by the failure of her own marriage, it too was a major literary success and a bestseller and was followed by the short (96 pages) juvenile novel 35 kilos d'espoir (95 Pounds of Hope) that she said she wrote "to pay tribute to those of my students who were dunces in school but otherwise fantastic people".
In 2004, her third novel, "Ensemble c'est tout," focused on the lives of four people living in an apartment house: a struggling young artist who works as an office cleaner at night, a young aristocrat misfit, a cook, and an elderly grandmother. The 600-page book is a bestseller in France and has been translated into English as Hunting and Gathering.
As of 2007, her three books have sold more than 3 million copies in France. Ensemble c'est tout was made into a successful movie in 2007 by Claude Berri, with Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. The adaptation of her first novel, Je l'aimais, with Daniel Auteuil and Marie-Josée Croze, was filmed in 2009 by Zabou Breitman.
Divorced, and the mother of two, Gavalda lives in the city of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, about 50 km southeast of Paris. In addition to writing novels, she also contributes to Elle magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 267 reviews
August 13, 2010
This one is hard to read from the beginning.
I wanted to put this book down more than once but as I was waiting for my connecting flight at the airport and had no other book on hand I kept on reading for a few hours and am so happy about it.
This book gets you and is such a book about love love and love. And about a midlife-crises and how you can really live your dreams even if its the difficult way to live.
It is beautiful written from the middle to the end and I really was sad when I finished it.
I wanted to put this book down more than once but as I was waiting for my connecting flight at the airport and had no other book on hand I kept on reading for a few hours and am so happy about it.
This book gets you and is such a book about love love and love. And about a midlife-crises and how you can really live your dreams even if its the difficult way to live.
It is beautiful written from the middle to the end and I really was sad when I finished it.
June 11, 2025
Ана Гавалда е много добър разказвач на човешки истории и взаимоотношения.
В първите ѝ три книги, които са издадени и на български, се бе получило много добре. Но в тази, това хаотично разпадане на личността на главния герой ми дойде малко в повече.
Последните 200 страници ми доставиха голямо удоволствие и спасиха тази книга от участта да бъде изоставена недочетена.
P.S. Корицата е направо безумна... :(
В първите ѝ три книги, които са издадени и на български, се бе получило много добре. Но в тази, това хаотично разпадане на личността на главния герой ми дойде малко в повече.
Последните 200 страници ми доставиха голямо удоволствие и спасиха тази книга от участта да бъде изоставена недочетена.
P.S. Корицата е направо безумна... :(
October 10, 2013
This is a rather odd book. It reminds me of Elizabeth Goudge and Rumer Godden because nothing really seems to happen but there's a story there that's awfully compelling. This is a story about life falling apart and coming together. About life and death and living despite being dead and the slow decaying death that is a meaningless life of going through the motions.
There's a main character, a man I don't particularly like and who I thought very little of until I reached the almost-end of the book. There's Anouk, who haunts the book, peeking out of corners where you didn't expect her to be. There's Claire, the man's sister, who's hard to pin down, but could have an entire book written about her as well, there's that much hidden depth to the character. There's Alexis, who moves from one extreme to the other over the course of his life. There's Mathilde, the man's sort-of-daughter, who's here and there and rather like Little Women's Jo, with appendages in odd places and in that not-quite-fitting stage of adolescence. And then, there's Kate and the village of children.
I would love to have been one of Kate's children. I would have loved to have grown up there (though, really, would I? I don't know for sure...). And really, Kate forms the center of the novel, as she forms the center of the children's lives, all the while slipping out of the frame with Anouk in the distance behind her.
I don't quite know how to define this book because, like Anouk and Kate, it keeps slipping out of my grasp and going where I don't expect it to go.
There's a main character, a man I don't particularly like and who I thought very little of until I reached the almost-end of the book. There's Anouk, who haunts the book, peeking out of corners where you didn't expect her to be. There's Claire, the man's sister, who's hard to pin down, but could have an entire book written about her as well, there's that much hidden depth to the character. There's Alexis, who moves from one extreme to the other over the course of his life. There's Mathilde, the man's sort-of-daughter, who's here and there and rather like Little Women's Jo, with appendages in odd places and in that not-quite-fitting stage of adolescence. And then, there's Kate and the village of children.
I would love to have been one of Kate's children. I would have loved to have grown up there (though, really, would I? I don't know for sure...). And really, Kate forms the center of the novel, as she forms the center of the children's lives, all the while slipping out of the frame with Anouk in the distance behind her.
I don't quite know how to define this book because, like Anouk and Kate, it keeps slipping out of my grasp and going where I don't expect it to go.
November 25, 2021
Not quite my cup of tea, not a bad book by any means though. Didn't feel like it had an interesting set of characters to care to much about as the plot was rather quiet. Can see why other might like it but wasn't for me
June 22, 2011
This book tortured me for about 2 weeks. No, it's brilliant, it's captivating, but it hits right in the weakest point of the reader. This book is about each of us and none of us. Characters! Charles... his work in Moscow, how funny, how sad! I love Gavalda's books but so far this is the one.
I'm endlessly in love with her style! Short sentences but so full of irony, so full with love.
I'm endlessly in love with her style! Short sentences but so full of irony, so full with love.
July 16, 2012
While I always enjoy Anna Gavalda's books, this is perhaps my least favourite so far. Charles, while reasonably likeable, did not grab me as the central protagonist, and the sudden shift into bucolic fantasy in the last third of the book felt so whimsical that it was ridiculous. Both Kate and Anouk read as Manic Dream Pixie Girls rather than characters with whom I could connect. Nevertheless, there are dimensions to Gavalda's writing style that I enjoy, such as her occasional bursts of almost stream-of-consciousness that always make me think, rather pretentiously, of my undergraduate fascination with Hélène Cixous. She also uses minor characters to great satirical effect. The highlight of this novel for me was a brief cameo from some particularly loveable characters from one of Gavalda's previous novels, which also gave a great sense of completeness to Gavalda's growing portrait of modern Parisian life.
July 26, 2014
Non è facile commentare in modo compiuto questo libro.
Dire che non mi sia piaciuto per niente sarebbe inesatto, così come non sarebbe vero dire che mi abbia lasciato un indelebile segno.
E' stata una lettura a intermittenza.
Le prime 300 pagine -tante!- sono stata una salita ripida e tortuosa, irta di difficoltà: ero senza fiato, accaldata e affaticata.
Lo stile della Gavalda mi ha messo in difficoltà: i numerosissimi e ripetuti puntini di sospensione che lasciano tutto detto e non detto; i periodi brevi che fanno sottintendere pensieri non espressi; periodi che iniziano con dialoghi tra non si sa chi. Era difficile la comprensione.
Comunque, arrivata all'incirca a metà libro, ho cominciato a fare conoscenza con Charles Balanda, un architetto quarantasettenne parigino, che vive immerso nel lavoro, tra continui viaggi di affari tra la Francia e la Russia. La sua vita è bella, ricca ma vuota di sentimenti: ha una donna che lo tradisce, una figliastra adolescente che lui conosce appena. Charles cambia il percorso della sua esistenza in seguito a un episodio che lo trasporta in quel passato pieno di sogni, di aspettative e di sentimenti che ha accantonato: arriva la notizia della morte di Anouk, la madre del suo amico di infanzia, il suo primo grande amore, la donna che gli ha insegnato che cosa significa "vivere" .
Finalmente la storia ha una svolta.
Giunta in cima alla salita, mi si presenta innanzi agli occhi un paesaggio che incanta e così sprofondo nell'emozione della lettura. E' grazie all'entrata nella storia di Kate, una donna forte e debole insieme, sola e al contempo immersa in una vita caotica senza un attimo di riposo, una donna vera, che non si nasconde dietro maschere e si mostra per quello che è: un pozzo d'amore.
E qui, nel leggere la sua storia, mi sono emozionata.
Passato questo momento, improvvisamente il percorso si è rifatto tortuoso, la strada è ritornata piena di curve e finalmente sono arrivata alla fine.
Al termine della lettura faccio un bilancio.
Se dovessi fare un valutazione complessiva del libro, il piatto della bilancia penderebbe verso il "deludente", soprattutto perchè la Gavalda mi ha incantato con "Insieme e basta".
Tuttavia, come ho detto sopra, il libro mi ha trasmesso delle emozioni nella parte centrale, per me la più bella, quella dove emergono i sentimenti.
Perciò gli dò due stelle.
Dire che non mi sia piaciuto per niente sarebbe inesatto, così come non sarebbe vero dire che mi abbia lasciato un indelebile segno.
E' stata una lettura a intermittenza.
Le prime 300 pagine -tante!- sono stata una salita ripida e tortuosa, irta di difficoltà: ero senza fiato, accaldata e affaticata.
Lo stile della Gavalda mi ha messo in difficoltà: i numerosissimi e ripetuti puntini di sospensione che lasciano tutto detto e non detto; i periodi brevi che fanno sottintendere pensieri non espressi; periodi che iniziano con dialoghi tra non si sa chi. Era difficile la comprensione.
Comunque, arrivata all'incirca a metà libro, ho cominciato a fare conoscenza con Charles Balanda, un architetto quarantasettenne parigino, che vive immerso nel lavoro, tra continui viaggi di affari tra la Francia e la Russia. La sua vita è bella, ricca ma vuota di sentimenti: ha una donna che lo tradisce, una figliastra adolescente che lui conosce appena. Charles cambia il percorso della sua esistenza in seguito a un episodio che lo trasporta in quel passato pieno di sogni, di aspettative e di sentimenti che ha accantonato: arriva la notizia della morte di Anouk, la madre del suo amico di infanzia, il suo primo grande amore, la donna che gli ha insegnato che cosa significa "vivere" .
Finalmente la storia ha una svolta.
Giunta in cima alla salita, mi si presenta innanzi agli occhi un paesaggio che incanta e così sprofondo nell'emozione della lettura. E' grazie all'entrata nella storia di Kate, una donna forte e debole insieme, sola e al contempo immersa in una vita caotica senza un attimo di riposo, una donna vera, che non si nasconde dietro maschere e si mostra per quello che è: un pozzo d'amore.
E qui, nel leggere la sua storia, mi sono emozionata.
Passato questo momento, improvvisamente il percorso si è rifatto tortuoso, la strada è ritornata piena di curve e finalmente sono arrivata alla fine.
Al termine della lettura faccio un bilancio.
Se dovessi fare un valutazione complessiva del libro, il piatto della bilancia penderebbe verso il "deludente", soprattutto perchè la Gavalda mi ha incantato con "Insieme e basta".
Tuttavia, come ho detto sopra, il libro mi ha trasmesso delle emozioni nella parte centrale, per me la più bella, quella dove emergono i sentimenti.
Perciò gli dò due stelle.
November 27, 2010
Der Roman handelt von dem erfolgreichen Architekten Charles Balanda. Charles lebt eigentlich schon eine Weile nicht mehr richtig. Er funktioniert nur noch. Seine Frau und seine Stieftochter sind nur Randfiguren, weil er vielmehr mit Arbeiten beschäftigt ist. Eines Tages bekommt er einen Brief, der ihn vollkommen aus der Bahn wirft. In dem Brief stehen nur drei Worte: "Anouk ist tot.".
Charles holt die Vergangheit ein, er verliert sich in ihr und nur widerstrebend setzt er sich mit ihr auseinander. Je näher er seiner Vergangenheit kommt, desto intensiver spürt er, dass er nicht das Leben führt, welches ihn glücklich macht.
Anna Gavalda hat wieder eine vielschichtige Familiengeschichte geschaffen, die uns jede ihrer Figuren unglaublich nah bringt.
Das Buch ist in zwei Abschnitte eingeteilt.
Im ersten Teil ist die Erzählung sehr diffus. Man kommt kaum hinterher, von wen denn jetzt eigentlich erzählt wird. Die vielen Perspektivwechsel lassen das Ganze etwas chaotisch wirken. Man bekommt Charles Gefühle zwar hautnah zu spüren, hat aber Schwierigkeiten ihn zu verstehen. Zudem hemmen die kurzen, abgehackten Sätze den Lesefluss. Es hat mich viel Durchhaltevermögen gekostet, den zweiten Abschnitt des Romans zu erreichen. Als Charles mit seinem alten Leben bricht und sich für das Unbekannte öffnet, wird auch der Schreibstil der Autorin ruhiger und flüssiger.
Ich weiß nicht so recht, was ich von diesem Buch halten soll. Einerseits war es sehr anstrengend zu lesen, ich war ein paar Mal kurz davor, abzubrechen. Der Handlungsverlauf war verwirrend. Ich wusste manchmal nicht, was die Autorin denn eigentlich aussagen will. Andereseits ist "Alles Glück kommt nie" eine wundervolle, warmherzige Geschichte, die uns zeigt, wie wichtig es ist, gegen den Stillstand im eigenen Leben anzukämpfen.
Charles holt die Vergangheit ein, er verliert sich in ihr und nur widerstrebend setzt er sich mit ihr auseinander. Je näher er seiner Vergangenheit kommt, desto intensiver spürt er, dass er nicht das Leben führt, welches ihn glücklich macht.
Anna Gavalda hat wieder eine vielschichtige Familiengeschichte geschaffen, die uns jede ihrer Figuren unglaublich nah bringt.
Das Buch ist in zwei Abschnitte eingeteilt.
Im ersten Teil ist die Erzählung sehr diffus. Man kommt kaum hinterher, von wen denn jetzt eigentlich erzählt wird. Die vielen Perspektivwechsel lassen das Ganze etwas chaotisch wirken. Man bekommt Charles Gefühle zwar hautnah zu spüren, hat aber Schwierigkeiten ihn zu verstehen. Zudem hemmen die kurzen, abgehackten Sätze den Lesefluss. Es hat mich viel Durchhaltevermögen gekostet, den zweiten Abschnitt des Romans zu erreichen. Als Charles mit seinem alten Leben bricht und sich für das Unbekannte öffnet, wird auch der Schreibstil der Autorin ruhiger und flüssiger.
Ich weiß nicht so recht, was ich von diesem Buch halten soll. Einerseits war es sehr anstrengend zu lesen, ich war ein paar Mal kurz davor, abzubrechen. Der Handlungsverlauf war verwirrend. Ich wusste manchmal nicht, was die Autorin denn eigentlich aussagen will. Andereseits ist "Alles Glück kommt nie" eine wundervolle, warmherzige Geschichte, die uns zeigt, wie wichtig es ist, gegen den Stillstand im eigenen Leben anzukämpfen.
September 22, 2009
mmm qué he aprendido de este libro? que si no te gusta una novela la dejes en las primeras páginas y no intentes darle oportunidades. Para algunos este libro estará escrito maravillosamente, pero yo veo a una tía que se ha comprado un portátil, le ha instalado el word, se ha comprado el libro de crítica literaria y ha creído entender el concepto de stream of conciousness y quería copiarlo.
Batiburrillo de ideas sin sentido, historia que puede ser interesante pero la forma de narrala prrrrrrrr (ruido de pedorreta)
Batiburrillo de ideas sin sentido, historia que puede ser interesante pero la forma de narrala prrrrrrrr (ruido de pedorreta)
August 8, 2012
The plot of Consolation is essentially this: a man falls headlong into a mid-life crisis after learning of the death of a childhood friend. But as always seems to be the case with Anna Gavalda, her books are not about plot but about characters. She creates people who are so rich and multifaceted that they seem far more real than imaginary. Consolation is a beautiful musing on love and second chances and guilt and responsibility. I must confess, though, that I only gave the book a 3.5 Star rating, and if you've never read Gavalda, I'd recommend Hunting and Gathering instead of this one.
December 3, 2009
The first 300 pages were terrible. Seriously. I had read somewhere on the Internet that it started getting good at about half, and they weren't lying. It was a pain before - hate the main character, hate the writing style (lots of ... and no pronouns, what is that about). When Kate comes around it starts being awesome. It was weird.
July 15, 2021
Šī bija septītā, pēdējā no Annas Gavaldas grāmatām latviski, ko nebiju lasījusi. Pirmās 200 lapas domāju, ka laikam nepabeigšu, tik haotiski un juceklīgi viss likās, ''es, viņš, Šarls'' personas vienlaidus tekstā, ko uztvēru ar mokām, biju mulsinošā neizpratnē, jo visas pārējās grāmatas man ļoti, ļoti aizkustināja. Tās gan nekad nav bijušas tādas rimti lēnas un secīgas, vienmēr ir Annas ironiski precīzais stiliņš, kur viss sakārtojas tikai grāmatas beigās. Un tad pēdējās vairāk kā 300 lapas pavadīju atkal tajā burvīgajā Annas radītajā atmosfērā, no kuras tik viegli nevar izrāpties. Kārtējā pasaka? Jā, bet vai sevis atrašana un dzīvot sākšana ar prieku nav pasaka? Tas vienmēr ir brīnumains mirklis, tādēļ arī vienmēr liekas kā pasaka... Arī vienmēr klātesošā mīlestība, tāda īsta, pamatīga ar lielo M tomēr ir brīnums, kuram gribam ticēt kā pasakai...
Vienīgais akmens, bet tas, protams, nav Annas, bet mūsu izdevēju dārziņā - atkal galīgi neizdevies un mulsinoši neiederīgs vāks! Grāmata ir bieza, uz to ir jālūkojas vairākas dienas un man to gribējās aizklāt :)
Lieliskā Anna Gavalda ir ienākusi manā grāmatu sarakstā uz mūžīgu palikšanu!
Rāpies lēnām
Mazais gliemezi
Tu esi Fudzi kalna virsotnē! (425)
''Ir pirmā spēle, otrā, izšķirošā, revanšs un mierinošā. Tā ir partija tāpat vien...Bez likmēm, bez sacensības, bez zaudētājiem... Vienkārši savam priekam...'' (502)
Vienīgais akmens, bet tas, protams, nav Annas, bet mūsu izdevēju dārziņā - atkal galīgi neizdevies un mulsinoši neiederīgs vāks! Grāmata ir bieza, uz to ir jālūkojas vairākas dienas un man to gribējās aizklāt :)
Lieliskā Anna Gavalda ir ienākusi manā grāmatu sarakstā uz mūžīgu palikšanu!
Rāpies lēnām
Mazais gliemezi
Tu esi Fudzi kalna virsotnē! (425)
''Ir pirmā spēle, otrā, izšķirošā, revanšs un mierinošā. Tā ir partija tāpat vien...Bez likmēm, bez sacensības, bez zaudētājiem... Vienkārši savam priekam...'' (502)
January 4, 2025
Så svårt att ge betyg på denna bok, sögs aldrig riktigt in i historien. Vilket kan ha berott på att jag tyckte boken var skriven på ett sätt som jag inte är van vid, vilket gjorde det rätt "jobbigt" att läsa. Samtidigt tyckte jag sättet boken var skriven på var väldigt fint. Boken bör nog ha konsumerats i ett snabbare tempo än jag gjorde, tror jag hade gillat boken mer om jag inte tagit en fyra månaders paus mitt i läsandet..
May 26, 2010
OK, I can't go on reading this. It's just dire. I didn't expect it to be a masterpiece, but I bought it (cheap paperback fortunately) because I enjoyed Ensemble c'est Tout -- it was a pleasant, undemanding read. Many of the reviews on amazon.fr said that the first 300 pages were hard going, but it got better. Well, yes, they were hard going. But then it got worse.
Some French reviewers whinged about the grammar and structure in the first part (lack of personal pronouns making it hard to follow, mingling of past and present). Well, I got that. The style reflects Charles' state of mind. But why was this part so loooooong? And dull? And repetitive? We already know as much as we need to about Charles after 50 pages.
Part 2: the depressive Charles, covered in facial scars from a contretemps with a car in a Paris street, visits childhood friend Alexis, who has one of those nauseatingly cute, bright children that Hollywood specialises in. It's pretty unbelievable that le petit Lucas instantly adores Charles and follows him everywhere. But hey ... let's carry on.
Then the charming "baba cool" Kate is introduced, and this is where things go seriously downhill. She pours out her entire life story to Charles in one implausibly coherent seven-hour conversation. No spoilers here, but her melodramatic history just smacks of an author's desire to create a handy situation for her characters to fall in love free of encumbrances. Gavalda is obviously keen to experiment with style in this book; a later cutesy authorial intervention, extracts from Charles's sketchbook, and the really annoying franglais conversations, finally drove me to flip to the end and then toss the book away in disgust. The ending is of course blindingly obvious, although I admit I didn't predict the exhuming of a coffin. Oh, and while I was page-flipping I spotted a cameo appearance of Franck and Philou from Ensemble c'est Tout, which was probably fun for her but added nothing to the plot.
Self-indulgent, overlong, over-written, stock characters, banal plot. There are just too many things wrong with this book. Dear Anna, please read some Alice Munro, and learn how a good writer can pack more insight and truth into a story of 30 pages than you have into a slab of 600.
Some French reviewers whinged about the grammar and structure in the first part (lack of personal pronouns making it hard to follow, mingling of past and present). Well, I got that. The style reflects Charles' state of mind. But why was this part so loooooong? And dull? And repetitive? We already know as much as we need to about Charles after 50 pages.
Part 2: the depressive Charles, covered in facial scars from a contretemps with a car in a Paris street, visits childhood friend Alexis, who has one of those nauseatingly cute, bright children that Hollywood specialises in. It's pretty unbelievable that le petit Lucas instantly adores Charles and follows him everywhere. But hey ... let's carry on.
Then the charming "baba cool" Kate is introduced, and this is where things go seriously downhill. She pours out her entire life story to Charles in one implausibly coherent seven-hour conversation. No spoilers here, but her melodramatic history just smacks of an author's desire to create a handy situation for her characters to fall in love free of encumbrances. Gavalda is obviously keen to experiment with style in this book; a later cutesy authorial intervention, extracts from Charles's sketchbook, and the really annoying franglais conversations, finally drove me to flip to the end and then toss the book away in disgust. The ending is of course blindingly obvious, although I admit I didn't predict the exhuming of a coffin. Oh, and while I was page-flipping I spotted a cameo appearance of Franck and Philou from Ensemble c'est Tout, which was probably fun for her but added nothing to the plot.
Self-indulgent, overlong, over-written, stock characters, banal plot. There are just too many things wrong with this book. Dear Anna, please read some Alice Munro, and learn how a good writer can pack more insight and truth into a story of 30 pages than you have into a slab of 600.
February 5, 2012
Un mot pour définir ce livre : rebondissement. Un livre plein d'humanité, comme très souvent chez Anna Gavalda. Ce roman est fait d'inattendus et de surprises. Comment la vie d'un homme peut basculer, comment peut-il s'en relever. Il semble ordinaire, reconnu dans son métier par ses paires, en manque affectif mais il n'y prête guère attention. Il suffira d'une lettre pour tout bouleverser. On suit la vie de cet homme attachant, de sa vie d'avant à sa descente aux enfers, puis à sa renaissance avec toute l'énergie et tout le bonheur que cela peut procurer.
La force d'Anna Gavalda est de faire vibrer le lecteur en même temps que ses personnages. Encore un livre où on ne veut pas atteindre la dernière page.
Ce livre est à conseiller aux lecteurs qui aiment voir se dérouler sous leurs yeux la vie de gens ordinaires qui gardent des cicatrices mais qui avancent.
One word to define this book : rebound. A book plenty of humanity, as very often in the writing of Anna Gavalda. This story is maked by unexpected and surprises. How the life of a man can rock, how can he get up again. He seems to be an ordinary man, recognized in his job, in emotional lack. A letter will be enough for upsetting everything.
We look the life of this charming man, from his life of front to his descent into hell, and then his revival with energy and happiness.
The strength of Anna Gavalda is to make the reader vibrate in the same times of the characters. It is a book in which we don't want to be at the last page.
This book is to be recommended to readers who like to see the life of ordinary people, who keep scars but who move forward.
La force d'Anna Gavalda est de faire vibrer le lecteur en même temps que ses personnages. Encore un livre où on ne veut pas atteindre la dernière page.
Ce livre est à conseiller aux lecteurs qui aiment voir se dérouler sous leurs yeux la vie de gens ordinaires qui gardent des cicatrices mais qui avancent.
One word to define this book : rebound. A book plenty of humanity, as very often in the writing of Anna Gavalda. This story is maked by unexpected and surprises. How the life of a man can rock, how can he get up again. He seems to be an ordinary man, recognized in his job, in emotional lack. A letter will be enough for upsetting everything.
We look the life of this charming man, from his life of front to his descent into hell, and then his revival with energy and happiness.
The strength of Anna Gavalda is to make the reader vibrate in the same times of the characters. It is a book in which we don't want to be at the last page.
This book is to be recommended to readers who like to see the life of ordinary people, who keep scars but who move forward.
December 30, 2011
After having read "Hunting & Gathering" by the same author, a true masterpiece, I had very high expectations of this novel.
But I am markedly disappointed with this read, and I had to make a great effort finishing it. The protagonist Charles Balanda had no characteristics or happenings at all that intrigued me whatsoever. I really didn't want to know whether he sorted out his ordeals or not. Maybe I am in the wrong life phase to appreciate this one.
I only looked forward to the ending, so I could start a new book. "La Consolante" was such a drab...
How can "Hunting and Gathering" get 5 stars from me and "La Consolante" 1 star?
Pleeeeeeeeeaase, someone... anyone... if you have a third novel by Gavalda that's a good read, please recommend it to me. I don't want to give up on Anna Gavalda.
But I am markedly disappointed with this read, and I had to make a great effort finishing it. The protagonist Charles Balanda had no characteristics or happenings at all that intrigued me whatsoever. I really didn't want to know whether he sorted out his ordeals or not. Maybe I am in the wrong life phase to appreciate this one.
I only looked forward to the ending, so I could start a new book. "La Consolante" was such a drab...
How can "Hunting and Gathering" get 5 stars from me and "La Consolante" 1 star?
Pleeeeeeeeeaase, someone... anyone... if you have a third novel by Gavalda that's a good read, please recommend it to me. I don't want to give up on Anna Gavalda.
May 11, 2023
Cuốn sách dịu dàng, ngọt ngào ấm áp và tràn ngập những chi tiết khiến bạn hạnh phúc là một sự lựa chọn tuyệt hảo cho một buổi tối êm dịu.
Một lần nữa Anna khiến bạn thêm tin tưởng vào những mối gắn kết tình cờ và có thể khiến con người ta sống tốt hơn lên dù bạn ở bất cứ lứa tuổi nào.
Đọc lại tháng 5/2023: cảm giác an ủi và được chữa lành bởi câu chuyện ấm áp, dù chúng ta có những tổn thương sâu đậm trong tim, những điều khiến chúng ta đau khổ, rời xa, hiểu lầm và ghét bỏ nhau, rồi chúng ta sẽ có cách chữa lành.
Một lần nữa Anna khiến bạn thêm tin tưởng vào những mối gắn kết tình cờ và có thể khiến con người ta sống tốt hơn lên dù bạn ở bất cứ lứa tuổi nào.
Đọc lại tháng 5/2023: cảm giác an ủi và được chữa lành bởi câu chuyện ấm áp, dù chúng ta có những tổn thương sâu đậm trong tim, những điều khiến chúng ta đau khổ, rời xa, hiểu lầm và ghét bỏ nhau, rồi chúng ta sẽ có cách chữa lành.
May 30, 2010
this book is too slow. The story is basic but one moment you want to go foward in order to know what happened in her life with this woman.
Also the writting is complicated to follow. You have to remember perflectly each charactere, beause the author will jump from his childhood to his actual like to the time where he met his wife. It is messy, and when I read a book, I hate coming few pages back, in order to understaned what I am reading
Also the writting is complicated to follow. You have to remember perflectly each charactere, beause the author will jump from his childhood to his actual like to the time where he met his wife. It is messy, and when I read a book, I hate coming few pages back, in order to understaned what I am reading
March 31, 2009
Worte hab ich nicht wirklich für dieses Buch. Es hat mir gefallen, sehr gut gefallen. Ich kann es nur weiterempfehlen, weiß aber nicht, ob es jedermanns Sache ist. Auch wenn es in den Bestsellerlisten ist, ich bezweifle, dass es jeder zu Ende liest. Ich konnte das Ende kaum erwarten, aber wollte es doch hinauszögern, weil es ein Vergnügen, ein Genuss war, dieses Buch zu lesen.
October 24, 2011
Like many others have already commented, the first half was very difficult to read. The author challenged the reader, no question about it :-).
But the story was with me long time after I had finished reading the book, it had a lot to tell me.
But the story was with me long time after I had finished reading the book, it had a lot to tell me.
March 30, 2009
its so weird to see oneself in a book....
September 2, 2011
This book is so well-splashed with tears and bathwater that I couldn't loan it out, even if I wanted to.
December 29, 2021
La Consolante, un des meilleurs livres à lire pour terminer l'année 2021.
Fort, émouvant, prenant, beau, attachant. Tous ces mots décrivent les sensations ressenties lors de la lecture de ce livre.
Impossible de ne pas y verser une larme (ou faut il vraiment se retenir).
Suivre l'histoire de Charles, homme qui obtient, dans un premier temps, le titre de "mec le plus déprimant du monde" ; suivre cette épopée de sentiments qui, même si nous ne les avons jamais ressentis, viennent s'infiltrer dans notre cœur et dans notre tête. On souffre, on rit, on pleure, on est ému, on haï, on aime en même temps que Charles.
Et le plus ironique dans cette histoire, c'est que le mec qui nous donne envie de nous foutre en l'air en même temps que lui, c'est aussi celui qui nous fait comprendre qu'il n'y a chose plus importante dans la vie que d'être vivant.
Bien évidemment, on ne peut pas parler de La Consolante sans parler de Kate. Je ne vais pas m'éterniser (même si c'est mon plus grand souhait) de peur de fournir des spoilers. Mais ce que je peux dire, qui résume plutôt bien: quelle putain de femme! quel modèle de courage, de persévérance, de résilience, de force et (surtout!) de générosité. Kate est belle et on en tombe autant amoureux que Charles.
Ne jamais oublier Kate, ne jamais oublier sa force.
J'avoue avoir commencer le livre sans trop y croire. D'ailleurs, je me suis demander plusieurs fois si je voulais vraiment continuer. Sans trop savoir pourquoi, par curiosité peut-être, j'ai tenu bon. (parce que c'est vrai que c'est difficile de suivre la dépression de Charles Balanda pendant 200 pages faut se l'avouer quand même). Et puis voilà, maintenant je ne pourrais plus jamais oublier ce livre de ma vie.
Ça, mes amis, c'est du Anna Gavalda.
Fort, émouvant, prenant, beau, attachant. Tous ces mots décrivent les sensations ressenties lors de la lecture de ce livre.
Impossible de ne pas y verser une larme (ou faut il vraiment se retenir).
Suivre l'histoire de Charles, homme qui obtient, dans un premier temps, le titre de "mec le plus déprimant du monde" ; suivre cette épopée de sentiments qui, même si nous ne les avons jamais ressentis, viennent s'infiltrer dans notre cœur et dans notre tête. On souffre, on rit, on pleure, on est ému, on haï, on aime en même temps que Charles.
Et le plus ironique dans cette histoire, c'est que le mec qui nous donne envie de nous foutre en l'air en même temps que lui, c'est aussi celui qui nous fait comprendre qu'il n'y a chose plus importante dans la vie que d'être vivant.
Bien évidemment, on ne peut pas parler de La Consolante sans parler de Kate. Je ne vais pas m'éterniser (même si c'est mon plus grand souhait) de peur de fournir des spoilers. Mais ce que je peux dire, qui résume plutôt bien: quelle putain de femme! quel modèle de courage, de persévérance, de résilience, de force et (surtout!) de générosité. Kate est belle et on en tombe autant amoureux que Charles.
Ne jamais oublier Kate, ne jamais oublier sa force.
J'avoue avoir commencer le livre sans trop y croire. D'ailleurs, je me suis demander plusieurs fois si je voulais vraiment continuer. Sans trop savoir pourquoi, par curiosité peut-être, j'ai tenu bon. (parce que c'est vrai que c'est difficile de suivre la dépression de Charles Balanda pendant 200 pages faut se l'avouer quand même). Et puis voilà, maintenant je ne pourrais plus jamais oublier ce livre de ma vie.
Ça, mes amis, c'est du Anna Gavalda.
June 22, 2021
Labai sunku vertinti, kai kūrinys yra daugiasluoksnis. Jame rasi visko: nuo rašymo stiliaus kitimo iki gvildenamų temų gausos. Šiek tiek chaotiška, mažai kas paaiškinama, siekiama jog skaitytojas pats viską išjaustų, vietomis nenuoseklu, tačiau viskas vienaip ar kitaip susisieja. Pati knyga nėra bloga, bet ne visiškai mano "skonio", sunku buvo į ją įsikniaubti ir išlaikyti susidomėjimą. Veiksmas ir istorija galėjo vystytis greičiau, buvo manau nebūtinų išsiplėtimų pasakojime, kuriuo autorius siekė paaiškinti papildyti tam tikras "skyles" istorijoje, kadangi kurinys apima daug ( praeitį,dabartį ir kuriamos naujos pradžios etapą). Kai kuriais dalykais sunku patikėti, atrodo neįtikinamai. Nemažai kūrinyje panaudota žinių iš įvairių sričių. Tai reikalauja turėti platesnį išprusimo lygį. Mėgstu autorės žodžių žaismą, veikėjų kuriamus psichologinius portretus, akibrokštus ir kaip maži dalykai, smulkmenos virsta smiginio strėlyte ir pataiko tiesiai ten,kur reikia. Man asmeniškai labiau patiko ir atrodo labiau apdirbti šios autorės trumpojo žanro kūriniai. Reziumė gera knyga, bet gal truputį buvo visko per daug.
January 26, 2021
Anna Gavalda tiene un estilo sencillo pero que transmite muchas emociones, es muy agradable de leer y siempre deja con un buen sabor de boca
En la novela se ve un año de la vida del protagonista, con sus más y con sus menos, con amor, con humor... Como la vida misma!!
En la novela se ve un año de la vida del protagonista, con sus más y con sus menos, con amor, con humor... Como la vida misma!!
December 5, 2025
DENNA BOK! Halvväg in, kämpat så länge, ville inte mer. Var påväg ner till återvinningen, delete på good reads. MEN, för många ”den vänder halvvägs”. Och ja det stämmer mycket väl! Oj så mysig!! Från 0,5 till en stark 2,5a!
Väldigt oklart om jag rekommenderar denna bok.
Väldigt oklart om jag rekommenderar denna bok.
June 10, 2019
Tried to read thisbook several times trough the years but I could never get into the story, and after the 4th try I finished it but still the story dident grasp me.
it get 2/10 stars.
it get 2/10 stars.
September 8, 2025
I lasted until page 92. I love other books by this author but not this one. Not spending my time on this yucky main character.
December 20, 2025
One of the best books I read this year. It's suave.
April 14, 2024
Cette petite tribu saura vous conquérir le coeur.
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