Voici un véritable petit programme de théâtre dessiné par Pierre Le-Tan ; rien n'y manque : publicités d'époque (1950), présentation de la directrice dudit théâtre, des acteurs, dessins des costumes ; et voici la pièce écrite par Patrick Modiano : drôle, mélancolique, cruelle. Cinq amis ont, à vingt ans, créé un groupe de chanteurs, les "Peter Pan", ils se retrouvent vingt ans plus tard, certains d'entre eux sont morts et viennent, fantômes figés dans leur costume d'époque, observer avec curiosité, dégoût parfois, ceux qui vivent toujours dans le souvenir de leur succès commun d'une saison : une chanson qui s'appelait "Poupée blonde"...
Ha sido una obra algo lenta en cuanto a la prosa aveces era insípida y poco atrayente, a mí me ha parecido que la he leído en un mes pero, solo han pasado dos días.
This is a strange book. Patrick Modiano has written a novel in the form of a playtext and accompanying documents. The play is attributed to the fictional Pierre-Michel Wals and the script is framed among equally fictional material that might have been found in a theatre programme: portraits of the actors, set and costume design sketches - even a portrait of the imaginary designer, "Milos". Best of all are the pastiche advertisements. All of this artwork is by Pierre Le-Tan and it's exquisite. But the play itself isn't much fun to read. It concerns the reunion of the members of a 60s pop group, "Les Peter-Pans" who had one big hit (Poupée Blonde) and then broke up. Twenty years on, they meet again and discuss what has happened to them in the meantime. That's about it. There's a little more to it but to give details might spoil the plot, such as there is.
So, while I couldn't say I enjoyed the reading, it's a beautiful book to look at and an intriguing concept. And it's very short.
Libro lúdico, onírico y engañosamente ligero. Bajo la premisa de ser un programa de mano para una obra de teatro con todo y sus anuncios, el texto que incluye el libreto de la obra de teatro completa se convierte en unas cuantas páginas en una reflexión profunda sobre la juventud perdida. Amigos de una vez en la vida, promesas incumplidas y la nostalgia del pasado pero también del futuro que pudo ser. Te deja pensando... y recordando.
I enjoyed this little "play" and the way it supplies a creative, different approach to Modiano's recurring reflections on Memory and Time. I liked it. However, I can see that one may need to be a Modiano aficionado to appreciate it. Assuming you read French, it is an easy one-sitting read. But don't let this book be the first or the only Modiano title that you read.