Le Colloque des bustes

by Bernard Comment

Dans une société où chacun est prêt à faire des pieds et des mains pour apparaître sur la scène du grand Spectacle, quel destin peut-on réserver aux individus dépourvus de bras et de jambes ? Les publicitaires sont à l'affût. Les collectionneurs d'art aussi. Il ne resterait qu'à applaudir, si autre chose, brusquement, ne venait enrayer la machine...Ce court roman, qui mêle le sarcasme et la tendresse, est une fable cinglante sur les errements de notre épqoue.

128 pages, Pocket Book

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Pascale · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book starts on a rather intriguing premise: people who've had all their limbs amputated as a result of a disease or an accident have become coveted by the most fashionable collectors. There's big money behind this new trend, and controversy is brewing. As a publicity stunt, half a dozen of these living art works are hand-picked to take part in a high-tech panel. Their words are supposed to be converted into text and translated into many languages as they speak, to show that far from being cynically exploited, these "busts" are provided with everything that the modern world has invented to limit the effects of handicap. The narrator, Louis, is one of the busts. Louis has a wry sense of humor and is totally lacking in self-pity, which makes him an interesting character. There's plenty of gallows humor in this book, some of it well-aimed and thought-provoking. The ending, however, is a serious disappointment. The buxom student who's paid to look after Louis turns out to be as kinky as any collector, and suffocates him while getting cunnilingus. This macabre erotic ending undermines a book with a potentially ambitious message about the commodification of people.

[Maëva Catalano · Rating 2 out of 5]

J'ai bien aimé le style d'écriture et la critique derrière le roman mais les dernières pages sont justes trop bizarres pour moi.