Bar Balto

by Faïza Guène

Bar Balto is a whodunit set in a dead end town near Paris. Joel, aka 'The Rink' because of his bald pate, the very unpopular owner of the only bar in town, has been murdered. When he is found dead in his flat, naked, covered with multiple stab wounds and surrounded by rivers of blood, it's not so much a question of who killed him but who didn't kill him, and it seems that most of his customers have strong motives. In a series of talking heads, they tell us their stories in their own, very different voices (from Magalie, the teenaged girl obsessed with Paris Hilton who talks in mobile phone speak, to a local mother whose only escape in life is her regular visits to the bar where she has to endure Joel's lecherous gaze). As the tension mounts and we're still none the wiser, the ending - in the form of Joel's final confession - is as shocking and tragic as it is unexpected. This novel is many a gripping whodunit, a shaggy dog story, a series of hilarious monologues and an insight into the human stories that lie behind banal, blind, unthinking, everyday racism. Handled with her hallmark provocative wit and delightful levity, this is a departure from Faiza's first two hugely successful novels which shows her flexing her literary muscles and extending her range as a writer of supreme talent. But, in her own words, this novel is a continuation of her ongoing theme of 'the invisible people in society'. Darkly disturbing, staggeringly impressive, "Bar Balto" is also a blast - showing off Guene's brilliance as a ventriloquist and her growing skill as a storyteller and social observer who can not be ignored.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, France, Crime, Thriller, Detective

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Faïza Guène is a French writer and director. Born to parents of Algerian origin, she grew up in Pantin, in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris. She attended Collège Jean Jaurès followed by Lycée Marcelin Berthelot in Pantin. She began studies in sociology at Université Paris VIII, in St-Denis, before abandoning them to pursue writing and directing full-time.

Her first novel, "Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow" was published in 2004 when Guène was nineteen years old. The novel has sold over 200,000 copies and been translated into twenty-two different languages, and paved the way for her following work, "Some Dream for Fools" (2006) and "Les gens du Balto" (2008).

Guène has also written for "Respect" magazine since 2005 and directed several short films, including "Rien que des mots" (2004).

Reviews

[Aurélie]

Un roman qui donne la voix à des personnages d'un quartier populaire, passant de l'un à l'autre et faisant le tour de leur quotidien, entre ennui, chômage, déboires de l'adolescence.
L'histoire est simple: Jojo, taulier raciste, macho et bourru du bar Le Balto a été retrouvé mort, baignant dans son sang et une enquête policière est en cours afin de découvrir le (la) coupable.
On retrouve ici la plume si particulière, intelligente, moderne et malicieuse de Faïza Guène, qui a écrit ce roman à seulement 23 ans.

[Melusine Parry]

absolutely excellent translation by the great Sarah Ardizzone. The book in itself is ok, a bit caricatured.

[Moushine Zahr]

This is the 3rd book I've read from French author Faïza Guène and in the past months. The main theme is still the same: life in the French suburbs, which are old and high density residences where live low income population and immigrants.

The difference between this book and the previous 2 I've read is in the format of the story. The story is presented as a crime story. Each chapter is about one character living in those suburbs. Therefore, this is a multi-character novel. Each character speaks for himself/herself about his/her life in the neighborhood and in general.

One of the positive aspect of the author's novels is that she gives voice directly to the people the neighborhood and do what the rest of society does: to speak for them without knowing them and to judge them on appearances alone. Unfortunately, when you've read one book of Faïza Guène, you've read the rest of them because it is always about the same theme.

[Claudia]

Je suis dans un cycle de lecture des romans de Faïza Guène, et celui-ci m'a beaucoup moins plu que les autres. Ce n'est pas que l'histoire est mauvaise ou que le récit choral est mal foutu, c'est qu'il y a pour moi une dissonance chez les personnages entre leurs portraits physiques/sociaux (tristement réalistes) et leurs propos. Ça ne colle pas vraiment, parfois ça sonne vraiment faux. Un peu comme une mauvaise traduction. Les traits d'humour et d'esprit qui m'ont frappée dans les trois autres romans que j'ai lu de cette autrice m'ont manqué, aussi.

[nats]

Cuando terminé el libro no sabía muy bien qué pensar... Después de leer la sinopsis creía que iba a ser una novela negra o policíaca, y lo es en algunas partes, pero en otras se centra en hacer un retrato social de los barrios de las afueras, a veces se centra en los dramas individuales de los personajes, y me dio la sensación de estar leyendo un batiburrillo de historias que no llegaban a estar bien cohesionadas de todo.

[Lina]

Facile à lire et assez prenant mais il y a quand même des défauts importants.
C'est peut-être parce que le livre a été écrit en 2008 mais la façon de parler de certains personnages sonnait souvent faux et ça en devenait gênant.
Le plot twist est assez décevant, je commence à en avoir assez des crimes où la victime a orchestré son meurtre.

[Anna]

Mir gefiel Faïza Guènes Buch "Kiffe kiffe demain" sehr, deshalb wollte ich unbedingt mehr von ihr lesen. "Les gens du Balto" war allerdings ein Reinfall für mich. Die Handlung, die Personen und besonders das Ende fand ich persönlich etwas platt.

[J]

I actually didn't finish this short book - I tried, liked the approach of a story told from different viewpoints but the people were just shouting abuse at each other and the world in general. Perhaps it lost something in translation.

[Sarah]

CN: murder, suicide of parent in the past, racism, ableism, abuse of intellectually disabled teen, physical violence.

It was entertaining enough. The ending was a bit far fetched and the characters were very two dimensional. It'd probably translate well into a screenplay.

[Thenordine]

La vie de quelques habitants tous un peu 'louches' autour du Balto. L'auteur arrive a faire varier tout les style et nous fait glisser dans la peau de chacun de personnages.

[M G Prior]

Super!

Very enjoyable. As in all of Ms Guene's books, the characters are alive and believable, with complex backgrounds and engaging personalities.

[Joy Summers]

Not terrible but no character I warmed to. More of a reveal than a twist at the end. Kept me busy for a couple of hours on a plane today but not one to rave about

[sally davidson]

A bit silly. Quite enjoyable.

[Oscar]

J’ai beaucoup apprécié la plume de l’auteure ainsi que l’histoire même si j’ai détesté pratiquement tout les personnages à part Yéva et Yeznig. Je ne sais pas trop quoi penser de ce livre dans son ensemble.

[Juno]

This is the second book I have read by this young French-algerian author and I enjoyed it a lot..a body is found and a host of neighbourhood characters give their account of themselves. It's not a murder mystery really, more like a series of character studies, and written in a particular vernacular of the young. Kudos to the translators, turning the street french of the banlieues into an equally refreshing english slang..I'm guessing it's vaguely south London but am far too old to know these things..!!

[Anna]

Je suis franchement déçue par ce bouquin. J'avais bien aimé les deux premiers romans de Faïza Guène, je les avais trouvés sympathiques, même s'ils ne cassaient pas trois pattes à un canard unijambiste, mais celui-là est raté. L'auteur en a trop rajouté dans le côté "roman choral", les différences d'expression entre les personnages sont outrées, et la fin (qui a tué le patron du bar) arrive comme un cheveu sur la soupe.

[Paul]

I didn't actually buy this for me to read, but after my son lost interest in it I gave it a go. I had liked another book she has written, Just Like Tomorrow. However this one felt a bit forced into the structure of successive monologues from the characters. The outcome was a bit....hmmm. Interesting perspective on the immigrant experience in France though.

[Emer Tannam]

I don't want to give this book even one star. It was boring, pointless drivel. The only reason I finished it was so I could write this review slating it. This book made me angry with the author for wasting my time.

[Alan Pottinger]

My hat goes off to the translator of this book - good little read, enjoyed this alternative whodunnit - well worth a look and had me chuckling in places and certainly had me wanting to complete to find out the answer to the mystery innit ;-)

[Matt Hunt]

An enjoyably odd insight into the lives of various people living in a Parisian suburb. Poverty, depression, racism and all the fun stuff.
An average at best detective novel but an excellent bit of cultural/class tourism!

[Chani]

A short book that I enjoyed a lot. More than a crime novel it's the choral tale of a god-forsaken hole in the Parisian suburb; each voice is spot-on. A young author to follow!

[Eleanor]

This book is a little bit silly. But I still liked it. It's good to catch up on my French slang. I also like the way Faiza Guene simultaneously mocks and has compassion for her characters.

[Ruth]

Really liked this little book. Parisian social commentary + whodunnit.

[Michael Krarup]

http://bogbrokken.blogspot.dk/2012/03...

[Hannafindus]

This book is embarrassingly bad... Doesn't even deserve one star.

[zack]

Det mp vara en bok om en mordgåta men det känns lite som Cluedo. Handlar mycket om karaktärerna och deras roller i vardagens Balto.

[Ellen]

Should of been able to fly through this book since it was only 160 pages. It took me four days to read this book.

Thought it was going to be funny wasn't in the slightest, very disappointing.

[mlle-cassis]

Lu en audio (interprété par plusieurs comédiens). Bin j'ai adoré.

[Damon]

DETeCTIVE

[Alain]

une chronique sociale de la banlieue autour d'un cadavre et des réponses aux interrogatoires. C'est plutôt bien fait, plaisant et se lit facilement.