Cartes postales de l'enfer

by Neil Bissoondath

For Alec, an independent businessman and classic car aficionado, life has been a series of lies that he has told himself and the people around him. Raised by a stay-at-home mother, and a father who worked on the line at an automotive factory in the Greater Toronto Area, Alec sets himself up as an interior designer. His success, he believes, is due as much to his talents as to the false impression he creates among his clients: he is a fashionable and trendy gay man, well-known in his world. Sumintra, or 'Sue', as she calls herself, does not chafe at her parents' expectations for her, as she lives a separate and secret life. When she meets Alec at a classic car show, their private worlds connect and they fall in love. The trouble for them is that they have public lives that are contrary to their personal hopes and fears. In a short novel that resembles Coetzee's Disgrace in both the elegance of its writing and its emotional impact, Neil Bissoondath has forged the finest novel of his career.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published September 27, 2008

About the author

Neil Devindra Bissoondath, novelist, short-story writer, essayist (b at Arima, Trinidad and Tobago 19 Apr 1955). He attended St Mary's College in Port of Spain before emigrating to Canada in 1973, when he became a student at York University (BA 1977). After graduating, he began teaching English as a second language and French in Toronto. Bissoondath began writing short stories in the late seventies, and attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1983. He credits his uncle, author V.S. Naipaul, for providing inspiration. Bissoondath's first book, a collection of short stories called Digging Up the Mountains (1985), deals with feelings of cultural alienation, exile and domestic upheaval - themes he has continued to explore in his other writings. The book was a commercial and critical success, enabling Bissoondath to leave teaching for a number of years and devote himself to writing full-time. In 1995 he relocated to Québec City, where he teaches Creative Writing at Université Laval.
Bissoondath published a second collection of short stories, On the Eve of Uncertain Tomorrows, in 1990. Most of his fiction has taken the form of novels, beginning with A Casual Brutality (1988), set in the fictional Caribbean republic of Casaquemada. The Innocence of Age (1993) is the story of intergenerational tensions in an increasingly racist Toronto. Bissoondath's novels often focus on characters confronting their respective pasts. The protagonist in GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD nominee The Worlds Within Her (1998) returns to her Caribbean birthplace in order to deliver her mother's ashes. In Doing the Heart Good (2002), an elderly anglophone Montrealer reevaluates his life after losing his possessions to an arsonist. The Unyielding Clamour of the Night (2005) deals with a young schoolteacher who leaves a privileged upbringing to encounter political, religious, and racial unrest in a fictional island state modelled on Sri Lanka.
Bissoondath's most controversial and best-selling book is Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada (1994, rev. 2002). In this nonfiction work, Bissoondath criticizes the 1971 MULTICULTURALISM Act for emphasizing differences rather than similarities amongst the country's various ethnic groups. He argues that the country's multicultural policies, though well-intentioned, have only encouraged the isolation and stereotyping of cultural groups.

Reviews

[Ignacio Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

bueno el libro en sí atrapa bastante, los personajes son muy interesantes, bueno mas que interesantes o profundos no te aburrenk el humor del libro esta muy bien, es bastante oscuro

lo que me gusto mucho fue el tema de que tan lejos te llevan las mentiras y querer ocultar cosas a los demás, y la delgada línea que hay con ser mitomano, creo que si bien es el mensaje que te quiere dejar el libro era bastante molesto el "tengo un secreto" y "este es otro secreto", es obvio que son secretos, no había que repetirlo tanto

no estoy de acuerdo con mentir, pero sí con ocultar información y no considero que sea lo mismo, pero x favor alec ( o cualquiera sea su nombre ) se pasa

[Mélina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Toute la vie d’Alec est bâtie sur un tissu de mensonges : sa carrière, sa famille, sa vie personnelle. Pour s’assurer de sa réussite personnelle, il s’est créé un personnage de designer homosexuel pour se créer de nombreuses relations parmi sa clientèle. Pour Sumintra, le mensonge sert à préserver l’image d’enfant-chérie que ses parents ont d’elle, lui permettant ainsi de vivre une vie débridée loin de leurs regards. Leur rencontre pose problème puisque leurs vies publiques vont à l’encontre de ce qu’ils sont, de ce qu’ils désirent et les poussent vers ce qu’ils redoutent.
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J’aurais voulu aimer ce livre mais ça n’a pas vraiment fonctionné pour moi. C’est un roman assez lent, j’ai trouvé qu’il y avait beaucoup de longueurs sur des sujets plus ou moins pertinents. Bien que la fin a donné un peu de pep au roman, j’ai trouvé qu’elle sortait de nulle part. Puisque le livre est une réflexion sur les différentes identités que nous portons, peut-être n’ai-je pas poussé ma réflexion pour y faire les liens que l’auteur souhaitait que l’on fasse. Le livre en soi n’est pas mauvais, c’est simplement l’un de ses livres qui se déroule lentement comme un fleuve tranquille.

[Rabea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll reflect on the implicit philosophical critique in this book for a while, knowing Bissoondath’s critical take on multiculturalism, particularly because it’s completely through plot and not through any sort of generalized blowhardingery.

Two people’s identities/personalities collide - an empathy-challenged white man who pretends to be gay so he can pursue his vocation for interior design, and a brown daughter of immigrants who must stringently hide all signs of sexual agency from her family increasingly anxious about her unmarried status. They both lie, and also fundamentally misunderstand one another. I wonder about the novelist’s choice to resolve the plot with violence. Its believable upon retrospection on fairly subtle cues. And what is it saying about the role of identity? Like I said, interesting to reflect on.

[Bruna Melany :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

LIVRO PERFEITO EU LI RÁPIDO DEMAIS E LEMBRO COM MT CARINHO

[Ive · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'aime beaucoup Neil Bissoondath, mais ce livre n'était pas à la auteur de Un baume pour le coeur: roman. En fait, c'est surtout la conclusion qui me laisse sur ma faim. On la dirait bâclée. Rien dans la définition du personnage ne laisse croire qu'il fera ce choix. C'est un peu la solution facile, sans nuance. La lecture jusque là était pourtant agréable et bien menée.

[Josee Schryer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of secrets but definitely of craziness. the will to succeed, family, life and death. A polar that is non conventional. A man and his hidden life, a hidden relationship. Secrets that lead to disaster,

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real departure from The Unyielding Clamour of the Night, a title I enjoyed immensely.

[Sandra Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Soul of All Great Designs is a superbly entertaining book, with a wicked twist at the ending. I highly recommend it...