Get Well Soon

by Marie-Sabine Roger, Frank Wynne (Translator)

Saved from drowning in Paris's River Seine, a sixty-something misanthrope finds himself stuck in a hospital bed for six weeks while he recovers, but if he was hoping for a peaceful convalescence he's out of luck. As he looks back on his life, the good and the bad, he makes some unexpected new acquaintances, and just when he thought life had no more surprises in store for him, he finds out he was wrong.... As an unlikely cast of characters come to visit at his bedside, he finds it harder and harder to maintain his splendid, miserable isolation. This is a wickedly funny and heartwarming story of healing and companionship.

Genres: Fiction, France, Ebooks, Adult Fiction, Humor, Roman, Contemporary

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Childless widower Jean-Pierre Fabre, 67 years old, just awoke from a coma. He was informed that he had been fished out of the Seine by a young hustler named Camille. He was confused and agitated. How did he end up in the Seine at 5 AM? Did he attempt suicide? Was he drunk and fell in? Inspector Maxime conducts the investigation visiting Jean-Pierre in the hospital, and also the site of the incident. Jean-Pierre, in room #28, is swaddled in plaster and bandages.

Jean-Pierre is impatient and agitated during his lengthy hospital stay. His surgeon has the warmth of an iceberg. The surgeon, with his "flock" of medical students, refer to him as the pelvic fracture in room #28. The nurses ask him,"how are we today?" We? Jean-Pierre is not a "we"! Granted, he is an old codger, but many of his rambling assessments about his hospital stay are accurate, albeit presented humorously. An entity controlled by the hospital staff? Definitely!

Jean-Pierre wants peace, quiet and his hospital room door closed. No such luck. A pudgy, gum popping fourteen year old girl asks daily to use his computer. He is visited by police inspector Maxime regularly and by Camille, a rent boy, who justifies the lifestyle he deems necessary to pay college costs and complete his math/physics degree. Over time, Jean-Pierre realizes that his new-found acquaintances have deeper thoughts and feelings than what they present to him. Each has made life choices and lives with the memories of his actions just like he does. He discovers the surprising events that led to his resultant accident.

"Get Well Soon by Marie-Sabine Roger was a humorous rendering of a lonely curmudgeon's hospital stay and road to recovery after a tragic accident. One has to chuckle at realistic hospitalisms including annoying or loud fellow patients, harried doctors and unlikable food. Author Roger allows Jean-Pierre to interact with several genuine, but flawed characters. These visitors to his hospital room slowly help Jean-Pierre reflect on his life more positively. An enjoyable read.

Thank you Steerforth Press, Pushkin Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "Get Well Soon".

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Edelweiss as a platform - the only Read-Now book which you don’t have to request. Needless to say, I got it in exchange for a review. And although I don’t like labeling free books as worth less than ones you have to pay or ask for - alas, this one was but 2.5 stars.

Get Well Soon has been compared to A Man Called Ove or even The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared. And although I haven’t actually read these two, I’m inclined to believe that something happens in them and perhaps there’s less cynicism and “French” (*badum tss* French? Get it? Book was translated from French? No..?)

All I can say is that this book read fast and quite easily. But essentially, it’s a book about nothing . Some endearing-seeming connections were attempted to be portrayed. Some conclusions drawn. The ending is okay, I guess. But I know that if I try to remember what it was about in about a half a year, I will not come up with anything. It’s hard enough to write this review three days after finishing it. So thanks, publisher, for making it accessible, but… no.

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago I read a little novel called "Soft in the head". It left such a positive impression that I just HAD to read another work by this talented author.  Once again, she has left me wanting more. She has created another character that is memorable and a story that will be appreciated by many. In particular, I think anyone who likes books like "The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen" or "A man called Ove" will love this one.

At five o'clock in the morning, a sixty-seven year old man is fished out of the Seine. Propelled over the bridge by an automobile, he is in critical condition. He awakes in hospital from a coma. He has a broken pelvis, many, many broken bones, and some internal injuries. He cannot remember why he was on the bridge at that hour...
Jean-Pierre Fabre is a childless widower and a self-confessed hoodlum. He always fancied himself a bit of a 'bad boy', but nothing could be further from the truth. Other than very sporadic visits by his younger and only brother, he has few visitors.

"Then the day begins, with ten times as many hours as a day spent on the outside".

He is in pain, he has had to give up all semblance of privacy and personal modesty. Flat on his back, connected to a myriad of wires, he reflects back on his life. His reflections are interrupted by a policeman who questions him about the event that led him to this condition. When no clarity is found, the policeman Maxime continues to visit him and they become unlikely friends over time.

"Sometimes, I shed a little tear. It's memory-related incontinence, a sort of emotional bed-wetting."

Another visitor is Camille, a young 'rent boy' who saved his life by fishing him out of the river and calling police.

"I don't know the first thing about kids - given my history - but I'm guessing it's much the same as kittens and puppies: if you're dumb enough to scratch their heads it won't be long before they start pissing on the table legs and hogging the sofa. I'll have none of that here, I need my peace and quiet."

As his condition begins to improve, he tries to fill his time with writing his memoirs. Then, he is also visited by a plump, gum-chewing, fourteen year old girl named Maëva who begs to use his laptop so that she can go on Facebook. (I imagined Gemma from Coronation Street)

MY THOUGHTS

Written with equal parts pathos and humour, this book was a little gem. It is a treatise on growing older, relationships, loneliness, and even hope. In short, I loved it.

[Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from the beginning of this witty and amusing novel by the writer of "Soft in the Head".

[Madeleine Corfier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean-Pierre verliert durch einen Unfall vorüber gehend seine Erinnerung & seine Mobilität. In dieser Zeit lässt er dann sein Leben Revue passieren & macht interessante Begegnungen… eine etwas melancholische aber vor allem humorvolle & sehr ehrlich erzählte typisch französische Geschichte. Gut für zwischen durch mal was Kürzeres (& bissel Anderes) zum Lesen…

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hörbuch. Fantastisch gesprochen von Armin Hauser. Ich bin immer noch ganz hin und weg.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

At my library, they had a shelf of books, all covered in brown paper, with a tag on it to give you a hint about what the book was about. Then you read it and filled out a review and got entered into a contest for a prize. Didn't win the prize but ended up reading a book I would never have written and I enjoyed it so much, will be reading the author's other book, called Soft in the Head. My hint said...story of a cranky bed bound patient looking back at his life seeks reader to share pleasant surprises. There were lots of surprises and although he is a very cranky man, in the end, of course, the different people he meets along the way help to soften him. Very interesting story especially for me reading it as a nurse.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the character of Jean-Pierre Fabre. A 67 year old somewhat curmudgeon type of man, at least he tries to be, who has just woke from a coma in the hospital. He has no idea how he got there and why he was recovered from the Seine.

You would think that a story that takes place in one hospital room over a period of several months would be a kind of boring story. However, the author has added several quirky characters each with a different exchange with Jean-Pierre.

I loved John-Pierre, his crustiness and his big heart.

Thanks to Pushkin Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* leaning towards 4.5.

I'm not quite sure what I expected with this one, but I got something different. I think I expected it to be more serious, heavier somehow - maybe it was the word "misanthrope" in the blurb, maybe it was the mention of the Seine (it's Paris, it's bound to be arty-farty, right?) It turns out to be one of those lovely books which have a great deal of depth without ever feeling cumbersome. It drops in perceptive observations and beautifully-worded bits of philosophy while keeping the characters real and appealing even as you recognise their failings. And it includes numerous musings which made me laugh out loud because they were so honest and cheeky. A great read, highly recommended.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, just not great. I usually love a book with a crotchey old man and how he reflects on his life and the characters he comes into contact with. This story has the man (not so old though...) in a hospital after an "accidental" fall from a bridge. An OK read.

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je n'accroche vraiment pas à ce livre.. Je réessayerai peut être une prochaine fois pour lui donner une seconde chance.

[Girl with her Head in a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review here: http://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/2...

Having absolutely loved Soft in the Head last year, I was delighted to receive a copy of Get Well Soon.  As with the previous novel, the quality and wit of the translation was such that it barely felt one at all.  Following in the footsteps of The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out A Window And Disappeared and A Man Called Ove, this is another tale of someone growing old disgracefully.  Jeanne-Pierre has no memory of how it happened, but somehow or other he fell (jumped? was pushed) into the Seine at around 5am in the morning.  Now he's in the hospital, making a slow recovery and meeting the inevitable cast of colourful characters as he does so.

Like Soft in the Head's Germain, Jeanne-Pierre's voice is what steers the story and he is one of those rare narrators who you feel as though  you can actually hear while reading.  He is far more cyncial than Germain, introducing himself with the words, 'I don't like to big myself up, but by the time I was, maybe, six or seven, I'd already had a crack at a bunch of things in terms of committing crimes and stuff that's illegal by law.  Aggravated robbery, sexual assault and battery, blackmail and extortion ...'.  Of course, the sexual assault relates to stealing a kiss as a child the blackmail was carried out on his younger brother but still there is the sense of a bleary-eyed world-weariness and not a great deal of liking for himself.

The bleak outlook continues as he explains that he grew up with his parents, younger brother, his pépé Jean and his dead mémé Ginou, who lived in an urn in the garage.  Both his paternal grandparents had died in an accident when his father was a child as his grandmother had never really seen the point of stop signs.  For young Jeanne-Pierre, he grew up with the persistent feeling that he would never quite feel his father's boots and now as an old man, his brother uses him as a warning to his own children, 'Don't grow up like your uncle, or you'll have me to deal with'.  So as he comes out of his coma and the policeman asked him if he remembers what happened, if he knows why he is here, if he has any desire to end his life, we sense Jeanne-Pierre's ambivalence in his response.

Roger captures the inertia of recovery, the long periods slipping in and out of sleep and aware of events flitting by in the periphery, particularly the way you 'don' have a fracture or an illness, you iare ithe fracture or the illness'.  Jean-Pierre is 'pelvic fracture - Room 28'.  The book has an episodic feel, with the tedium of the hospital broken up by his various visitors.  There is the police officer Maxime, then Jeanne-Pierre's brother,  who is suffering from IBS as his wife makes his life shit while his wife struggles with migraines because he does her head in.  Fretting over everything, Hervé does little to ease his brother's spirits.  There's his nurse Myriam, capable and outspoken.  Then there's the 'short, tubby' girl of around fourteen who repeatedly steals Jeanne-Pierre's laptop but also appears to have taken a liking to him far more than the curmudgeonly old man who would like.  Then there's Camille, the young prostitute who fished Jeanne-Pierre out of the Seine in the first place.  These are not the type of people who the old man would usually be meeting and his prejudices take a while to overcome.

In between all of this, Jeanne-Pierre is thinking back over the past.  He exchanges emails and Instant Messages with his old friend Serge, considers his long marriage to Annie.  Having long worked abroad, he is pestered by guilt for not being a better husband, only now able to admit to himself that he was relieved by the childlessness which broke Annie's heart.  Jeanne-Pierre is too earth-bound for self-loathing, his life too empty of drama to have any incidents to inspire true shame but his reminiscences are full of dislike for the selfishness which has brought him to this point, sitting in a hospital bed without anybody who really cares.  It is tempting to find it trite that he is able to find new people to love, but is it not better to embrace the idea that no matter what your age, you can still make new friends?  That you can set down the fixed ideas, the self-consciousness which might have stopped you from reaching out?  Throughout the book, Jeanne-Pierre acknowledges how his reactions and behaviours have changed as he has grown older - what have you got to lose by softening your heart?

Marie-Sabine Roger has created a waspish old man here and in the tradition of Charles Dickens' Scrooge, he is encouraged to open his heart.  I may be slightly late to Get Well Soon to be able to call it a summer read, so I will instead say that its warmth is perfect to get one through the winter.

[Haniya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder ein schönes Buch von der Autorin. Sie hat so einen einzigartigen Schreibstil. Ich liebe es.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine waking up in the hospital in pain, not knowing how you got there or even what your name is. That is what happens to sixty-something Jean-Pierre Fabre (although it takes a week or so for anyone to figure out his name) after he gets fished out of the Seine. As weeks go by and he slowly gets better, he starts to remember who he is and where he came from. 

Jean-Pierre is told that he was on the bridge when a car ran into him, forcing him over and into the river. There was a young man under the bridge who managed to grab a hook and drag Jean-Pierre to the side of the Seine, where the emergency services could take over. That was how he came to be in the hospital. But how he came to be a lonely curmudgeon will take more digging through his past. Going back through his life from his childhood on, he tries to write his own memoir, to remember his family, his wife, his friends, his joys, and his disappointments. 

However, through the time in the hospital, and due in part to the kindness of the nurses and the spirit of the younger visitors who make their way to his room, Jean-Pierre's grumpiness starts to fade. Although nothing will bring his wife back, and he has no children to depend on, he is learning that maybe he's not as anti-social as he used to think, and he starts to open himself back up to life. 

Get Well Soon is a charming story of finding out who you are in your 60s and getting a second chance to become your best self. Written in French by Marie-Sabine Roger and translated into English by Frank Wynne, this heart-warming novel is a perfect reminder of how it's never too late to make friends. 



Galleys for Get Well Soon were provided by Pushkin Press through Edelweiss, with many thanks. 

[Miru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine leichte, angenehme Lektüre.

„Not macht diplomatisch.“

„Hoffnung ist etwas für Träumer und Jugendliche. Ich habe Erinnerungen.“

„Von der Hoffnung leben vor allem die, die daraus Profit schlagen.“

„Alles entgleitet mir, alles zerrinnt.“

„Das zwingt uns dazu, den Stoff unseres Lebens noch mal durchzugehen, und da wir ja keine schlechte Note zu befürchten haben, ist das nicht einmal unangenehm.“

„Manchmal verdrücke ich ein Tränchen. Das ist die Inkontinenz der Erinnerung, das Bettnässen der Gefühle.“

„Als ob Ehrlichkeit genügen würde, um befugt zu sein, seine Meinung zu äußern.“

„Menschen, die alle Hoffnung verloren haben, gleichen entweihten Stätten, Häusern, in die eingebrochen wurde. Ein Labyrinth von Verwüstungen, von erloschenen Lichtern, von aufgebrochenen Türen. Luftzüge, die nichts aufhalten kann. Stille und Leere.“

„Er lacht, ich auch. Wir können lachen: Wir sind noch am Leben.“

[Marcsbuecherecke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bei meiner Meinung zu diesem Werk kann ich mich ungewohnt kurz halten. Dieser Roman zeigt einmal mehr, wie es Frau Roger gelingt aus einer Alltagssituation - beziehungsweise hier: einer Situation, die jeden betreffen kann - eine Geschichte zu stricken, die zu berühren und zu packen weiß.
Ihre Charaktere wirken fast schon gewohnt vielschichtig und wissen zu überzeugen und den Leser mitzureißen.
Leider konnte mich das Buch emotional nicht so packen, wie es den anderen Büchern dieser klasse Autorin gelungen ist. Unterhaltend auch auf einer "tieferen" Ebene, als es jetzt ein Roman von beispielsweise Dora Heldt könnte, war er aber auf jeden Fall.

Fazit:

Ein wirklich gutes Buch, das zu überzeugen weiß, aber nicht zu sehr "abgehoben" ist.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough translation, it's short so some book clubs might like to try it to discuss Monsieur Fabre's look back over his life when stuck in a hospital bed.
He is a very grumpy old man but as he looks back there is no reason for him to have been. He meets different characters in the hospital, although he can't remember why he was on the bridge so early in the evening. A podgy girl tries to use his laptop. His young saviour visits butFabre judges him as he does everyone in his righteous way. Does he leave the hospital a better man? It's a bit quirky, an interesting look at older generations judging the young, but I did not gel with the cantankerous old git.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good potential but falls short. A man finds himself in a hospital bed for weeks after an accident. What ensues is him reflecting on his life however his life has been pretty uneventful. I felt that what follows is the character continuing to complain about everyone around him and the hospital food. The story never develops and then the book ends.

*special thanks to netgalley for allowing me to review this book with an advance copy*

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. My only complaint is that I wish the book was longer. The characters are great; I always like reading about curmudgeons and the other characters are quirky. I think the author did a great job portraying the atmosphere of a hospital and how patients feel about their treatment by the staff. It was interesting to see how a near-death experience and long hospitalization forced Jean-Pierre to evaluate his life and relationships. I highly recommend this book.

[Yazmyn Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Torn about this one...
I like the short paragraphs and short chapters so it felt like you were getting through it quickly but then on the other hand, you suddenly realise, you're halfway through the book and hardly anything has happened.
Didn't really have much of an ongoing storyline and the memoirs were sporadic.
An interesting read about the different characters a grumpy elderly patient encounters during his hospital stay.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not often to come across the book that makes you feel so good, lifts your spirit and makes you laugh. This little story is full of sadness and joy. There is nothing funny in the story of an elderly man being bed-ridden and disabled in a hospital , but somehow his personality, the strengths of his character and his honest self-awareness bring many rays of sunshine to everyone he meets. Even in the most unpleasant personal situation there is a way to help others.

[Theediscerning · Rating 1 out of 5]

(Downloaded via netgalley without realising I'd found her last book and its hero execrable.)

DNF – 25% read.

A quarter of the way through and nothing has happened. There's whimsy aplenty, but here it's the unenjoyable kind, and character by the bucket loads, but this author just waffles without even getting close to a plot. Note to self – must remember the turds as well as the glories.

[LeeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! There were so many lines I could’ve highlighted if it weren’t a library book, so I guess I’ll buy my own copy and do it! Some of the translation from French was a little rough but it didn’t take away too much from the story.

[Helen Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read, this one! The story follows Jean-Pierre, an isolated man, as he recovers from a serious accident in hospital. During this prolonged convalescence his life is changed by the relationships he forms. Very sweet and uplifting, I read it in a day.

[Julieta Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una lectura bastante sencilla, muy rápida y fácil de leer, bonito final, quizá le faltara un poco más de emoción, es de esos libros para relajar la mente, es una historia bonita, común, no es una montaña rusa de emociones,es más bien una estancia tranquila en una banca.

[Nanou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Histoire sympa, humour parfois noir
Le roman raconte le séjour à l'hôpital de Jean-Pierre suite à un accident
Alors je ne pense pas que ce sera un livre 📖 que je relirai mais à lire 1 fois c'est cool

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dull, inauthentic, and did not capture my attention in the least. Unfortunate, as the novel sounded great.

[Mauzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this, though it was a bit of a slow start. Light, whimsical, with emotional moments, it was a unique book.

[M. Sarki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave it a go, hung around for a good while, and then just had to let it be. Not for me. And not very good. Or believable.