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Power of Flies
The Power of Flies begins in a courtroom, where a man is undergoing an interrogation. He has committed a crime, and he must now explain himself. But instead of letting the judge, lawyer, and psychiatrist question him, he asks himself all the questions--and answers them. While ranting on to the court about various topics--his family, the museum where he works as a tour guide, and even the French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal--the narrator of The Power of Flies reveals himself to be both calculating and unstable. In this latest novel from acclaimed French writer Lydie Salvayre, it is up to the reader to sort through his philosophical diatribe to discover why this man turned killer.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
4 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Lydie Salvayre
53 books43 followersLydie Salvayre is a French writer. Born in the south of France to Republican refugees from the Spanish Civil War, she went on to study medicine in Toulouse and continues to work as a practicing psychiatrist. She has been awarded both the Prix Hermes and the Prix Novembre for her work.
She won the Prix Goncourt 2014 for her novel Pas Pleurer.
She won the Prix Goncourt 2014 for her novel Pas Pleurer.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 14, 2018
This one is like an update of Camus's The Stranger, as narrated by an alcoholic Holden Caulfield. It has its moments, but it drags a bit towards the end.
December 15, 2021
This is the first book I've read from French author Lydie Salvayre. The book is set in France during the second half of the 20th century. The book is more like a very long monologue of the leading character and narrator about his life, from childhood to adulthood. He talks to a judge and a doctor after his arrest for murder. The author depicts the lives of Spanish immigrants to France living in poor and harsh conditions. The leading character hates his brutal father, but ends up resembling him in many ways. The description of contemporary and modern life of poor people, but the format of long monologues and dialogues is unattractive to read. There wasn't anything attractive in the story.
May 7, 2009
don't be fooled by the oddly generic, flavorless cover--this is a very funny book. though it would be more correct to call it a very droll book.
droll.
giggle-y pitch-black humor. here's a bit:
"...my wife got the notion to interrogate me. Did I love her or didn't I? This was the question that haunted my wife, whose chronic need for reassurance always triumphed over her fear of annoying me... I was entirely incapable of replying to such an either/or. I was stretched out on the bed, motionless, with no desire to engage in untimely debate.
But my wife's whiny tone impelled me to react negatively. As a way of resisting, I mentally dismissed her inept questions and set my mind to pondering far more serious matters. Taking advantage of my prone position, favorable to cogitation, I considered a new way to attach the license plates to my VW. Not with plain wire, as I had previously planned, but with electrical wire, more secure, though a bit tackier.
Next, I decided to ponder various means of guarding against the noxious influence of our next-door neighbor...
The simples way to earn our next-door neighbor's respect, I thought, would be to start off our negotiating process with some form of preliminary aggression, as is commonly practiced with dogs and certain heads of state. But I'm the apprehensive sort, and I never dare confront the enemy head on. I have, so to speak, a literary soul...
So I sifted through my thoughts for a tactic better attuned to my personality than overt aggression...
-persuade him of my inoffensiveness, and to put it bluntly, of my stupidity (ask him idiotic questions, for instance, about how to plant parsley);
-heartily encourage all his security-minded tendencies: monitoring of fences, fear of thieves, distrust of strangers, etc.;
-bow with the body, while the soul bristles and stands straight (a tricky exercise requiring the suppleness of a snake);
-opt for outright servility, an unctuous voice: yes yes excuse me thank you very much how nice of you...
All options fully considered, I decided to pay my neighbor a visit the very next day, and to extend a friendly peacemaking hand, despite our landlady's order not to enter into any dealings with him.
I'd gotten that far in my thought process, when my wife burst into sobs..." (69-73)
droll.
giggle-y pitch-black humor. here's a bit:
"...my wife got the notion to interrogate me. Did I love her or didn't I? This was the question that haunted my wife, whose chronic need for reassurance always triumphed over her fear of annoying me... I was entirely incapable of replying to such an either/or. I was stretched out on the bed, motionless, with no desire to engage in untimely debate.
But my wife's whiny tone impelled me to react negatively. As a way of resisting, I mentally dismissed her inept questions and set my mind to pondering far more serious matters. Taking advantage of my prone position, favorable to cogitation, I considered a new way to attach the license plates to my VW. Not with plain wire, as I had previously planned, but with electrical wire, more secure, though a bit tackier.
Next, I decided to ponder various means of guarding against the noxious influence of our next-door neighbor...
The simples way to earn our next-door neighbor's respect, I thought, would be to start off our negotiating process with some form of preliminary aggression, as is commonly practiced with dogs and certain heads of state. But I'm the apprehensive sort, and I never dare confront the enemy head on. I have, so to speak, a literary soul...
So I sifted through my thoughts for a tactic better attuned to my personality than overt aggression...
-persuade him of my inoffensiveness, and to put it bluntly, of my stupidity (ask him idiotic questions, for instance, about how to plant parsley);
-heartily encourage all his security-minded tendencies: monitoring of fences, fear of thieves, distrust of strangers, etc.;
-bow with the body, while the soul bristles and stands straight (a tricky exercise requiring the suppleness of a snake);
-opt for outright servility, an unctuous voice: yes yes excuse me thank you very much how nice of you...
All options fully considered, I decided to pay my neighbor a visit the very next day, and to extend a friendly peacemaking hand, despite our landlady's order not to enter into any dealings with him.
I'd gotten that far in my thought process, when my wife burst into sobs..." (69-73)
April 3, 2025
Un choix de narration original sous forme de monologue autour des différents personnages
de la prison, puisqu’il est amené, sans le nommer, sa raison d’incarcération. C’est un
protagoniste abjecte, mais qui, en racontant sa vie, nous éclaire sur ses tares et permet de
Rentrer en empathie avec lui. Finement bien écrit et intéressant.
de la prison, puisqu’il est amené, sans le nommer, sa raison d’incarcération. C’est un
protagoniste abjecte, mais qui, en racontant sa vie, nous éclaire sur ses tares et permet de
Rentrer en empathie avec lui. Finement bien écrit et intéressant.
Want to read
December 29, 2007From Publishers Weekly
Salvayre's fifth novel to be translated into English is a tightly introspective series of first-person confessions by an arrogant murder convict whose life was transformed by reading Blaise Pascal. By turns angry, tricky and despairing, the narrator offers a disjointed narrative about his life leading up to the murder of his father. He begins by recalling the absurdities of his work as a guide at Pascal's abbey at Port-Royal, and how his reading of Pascal began to unlock memories of the horrific dynamic between his parents. His parents met at the Argèles camp for Spanish Civil War refugees; his mother, at 16, a half-starved rebel from Catalonia, was seduced by his father, a Communist under General Lister, and she became pregnant ... Read more
Salvayre's fifth novel to be translated into English is a tightly introspective series of first-person confessions by an arrogant murder convict whose life was transformed by reading Blaise Pascal. By turns angry, tricky and despairing, the narrator offers a disjointed narrative about his life leading up to the murder of his father. He begins by recalling the absurdities of his work as a guide at Pascal's abbey at Port-Royal, and how his reading of Pascal began to unlock memories of the horrific dynamic between his parents. His parents met at the Argèles camp for Spanish Civil War refugees; his mother, at 16, a half-starved rebel from Catalonia, was seduced by his father, a Communist under General Lister, and she became pregnant ... Read more
February 8, 2013
It's kind of a combination of the Catcher in the Rye meets the Stranger meets the Great Gatsby. It's a dialogue told as a monologue. Its absurd and entertaining. Existentialism is a main theme, and like all books and characters living in an existentialist philosophy it can get old. Thankfully the book ends just before it gets really bad.
This book is not a classic, but if you can appreciate the absurd and the philosophy you'll be entertained by the otherwise unlikable character.
Most people will probably think of this as a 3-star book, but with an open mind it will be better than you might think.
This book is not a classic, but if you can appreciate the absurd and the philosophy you'll be entertained by the otherwise unlikable character.
Most people will probably think of this as a 3-star book, but with an open mind it will be better than you might think.
January 15, 2014
GÉNIAL!!!!
6 étoiles
Dans l'esprit de la Conjuration des imbéciles...
On apprend à comprendre et presque à pardonner à un meurtrier.
Tournures de phrases délicieuses, drôles...
'J'ai horreur des confidences. La plupart du temps, elles sentent mauvais et attirent les mouches.'
Un homme seul, un monologue, une vie.
Et jusqu'au dernier mot, on essaiera de deviner qui aura été la victime.
GÉNIAL!
6 étoiles
Dans l'esprit de la Conjuration des imbéciles...
On apprend à comprendre et presque à pardonner à un meurtrier.
Tournures de phrases délicieuses, drôles...
'J'ai horreur des confidences. La plupart du temps, elles sentent mauvais et attirent les mouches.'
Un homme seul, un monologue, une vie.
Et jusqu'au dernier mot, on essaiera de deviner qui aura été la victime.
GÉNIAL!
December 8, 2014
Strange little book by an author who I only heard of recently, after she won a major literary award in France. This is a monologue, soliloquy by a man who has been arrested for murder (tho only on the last page do we find out who he has murdered, which is rather irrelevant.) While reading the 186 pages we learn about his parents, his wife, his job and his boss - and his "relationship" with Blaise Pascal. Interesting enough that I will look for other books by this author.
July 4, 2015
Le style hautain s'accorde parfaitement avec la personnalité de ce narrateur-personnage cynique et quelque peu déséquilibré... Ses prises de parole sont autant de déclarations à son psychiatre, à son médecin, mais aussi au juge qui le condamne pour... Suspense :-) D'une grande qualité psychologique.
September 17, 2013
While short this book felt like it was thousands of pages long. This long one sided dialogue was incredibly tedious to read for the most part.
On the other hand it did have a few, very few, funny parts and the end was quite interesting.
On the other hand it did have a few, very few, funny parts and the end was quite interesting.
November 20, 2007
Decent variation on Camus' Stranger.
January 16, 2008
I wanna call it a waste of time, but it did have a few good parts.
February 13, 2009
could you explain YOUR murder?
July 25, 2013
Engrossing soliloquy by a man on trial, meandering from reflectins of life, it's upturns and downturns, a fraught childhood and Blaise Pascal.
August 30, 2014
Strange little book
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews