Laurence: Roman (Le Livre de poche ; 5063)

by Didier Decoin

French

126 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1971

About the author

Didier Decoin is a French screenwriter and author. He began his career as a newspaper journalist at France Soir, Le Figaro and VOD, and radio Europe 1. At the same time he started writing.
While continuing his writing, he became writer in film and television (and adapted scripts for television as the major TV films Les Misérables, The Count of Monte Cristo, Balzac and Napoleon).
In 1995 he became the Secretary of the Académie Goncourt.

Bibliography

Reviews

[Carlo Hublet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un des premiers romans de Didier Decoin. La relation amoureuse entre une petite fille de 13 ans et un homme de 24. Mais loin de la sulfureuse histoire de Lolita. Souvent équivoque, frôlant les interdits, cet amour entre la gamine leucémique condamnée à une mort imminente et son coup de foudre pour un jeune homme qui hésite à fuir ou à aimer est une grande histoire d'amour. Intense dans sa simplicité.

[Sparrow .]

I’d never read a historical novel in English – I’m too much of a snob – but I read this one in French, somewhat inadvertently. My friend Janet found this book from 1971 in the Phoenician thrift shop, written by a mod-looking guy in black-framed glasses, and I started reading it, idly. But the French is pretty easy, and the story is mildly intriguing – though it goes nowhere, in the Continental style. It’s about a French immigrant to Brooklyn named Simon who is building the Brooklyn Bridge (but not alone). Perhaps because it’s composed in 1971 – a moment of spiritual awakening – Simon is obsessed with the Bible.

Let me translate a few lines at random:

“There,” responded Ramon, near the little boats.

Misunderstanding the intentions of Simon, he added: “But you shouldn’t eat them. They are bitter and the carapace is like thick crust. It’s nothing like a conch, with its spines.”

[I’m guessing at a few of the words.]

[Mazel]

Un jour - c'était en 1880 - on décida de construire un pont géant qui relierait New York à Brooklyn.

Ceux qui participèrent à sa construction furent pour la plu-part des immigrants: des hommes qui n'avaient rien à perdre.

Parmi eux, il y avait Simon, le Français.

Et sa femme, Gelso-mina, d'origine italienne.

Et entre eux - comme un autre pont - il y eut Kate : vingt ans, Américaine, qui s'était évadée des pontons pénitentiaires où des crabes rouges dévorent les détenus.


Très vite, Simon en vient à considérer Kate comme sa fille. Il est obsédé par l'idée de la sauver : la sauver de la prison, et la sauver d'elle-même.

Gelsomina, elle, sent son mari lui échapper. Simon, atteint par le mal des caissons, décide de fuir: Brooklyn est devenue trop dangereuse.

A tout instant, Kate peut être retrouvée par la police. Il part, emmenant cette fille qu'il aime d'un amour immense, étrange, très pur, et sa femme.

Le voyage est long, épuisant : avec un seul cheval pour trois, ils traversent le désert des plaines, puis les cols des monts Appa-laches. Enfin, ils parviennent à Chicago.

Simon croit que, là, Kate sera en sécurité…

[Mimi · Rating 1 out of 5]

wow- i just could not understand what this book was about until 3 chapters before last. And that's just because i was pondering and saw the title again.
The story is set during one of the most interesting part of New York City, the construction of the Brooklyn bridge, and i thought it would be great to learn something through the eyes of one of the foreman who helped building it. hmmm, not so much. The book is actually biblical so i entirely missed the point.
until today i have no idea what this story was about and -if any- what the message was - but i am not about to read it again .