21st Century Literature discussion

No spoilers

I thought it was interesting how we are given some of the backstory of Manfred's upbringing and then moved back into the present. The author really zeroes in on a specific character. And here comes the questioning starting once the disapparance takes place...

I'm a little confused as to the time period. As far as ch. 4, it feels solid in the post WWII, Maigret era... except for a reference to his "60's era apartment block" and the current right-wing bugbears. Contributing to the confusion is the book's subtitle - "A Historical Thriller" Historical?

That's an interesting comment about the timeframe Mark. I've never been to France and didn't know enough to pin down the timeframe, but something about the way the detective and others behave does put me in the mind of an older time period. I didn't know if that was because the place was a backwater or what

Chapter 8 is disturbing but very well done in the blow by blow description, I thought.

I guess Manfred (view spoiler)[accidentally strangled her as he was getting off, probably acting on subconscious desires? It seems telling that even before meeting Juliette as he is lying in the forest, he fantasizes about his own destruction, with his body being burnt to ash by a tidal wave of fire. There's a lot of repressed rage and self-hatred in that fantasy. He has to have a pretty creepy vibe for his own grandfather to think of him as "Nosferatu" after all.

But if he's already a murderer as an adolescent, I feel worried for the woman he met at the dryer, and it seems likely he had something to do with Adele's disappearance (hide spoiler)].

Coming off Soldier Sailor, the objectification of Adèle on the FIRST PAGE was a shock. I guess we're not in Kansas any more.

Greg: I haven't been to France either, but I've seen four (I think) versions of Maigret. The smoky bar/ cafe is a standard setting.

Mark wrote: "Coming off Soldier Sailor, the objectification of Adèle on the FIRST PAGE was a shock. I guess we're not in Kansas any more."

In the very beginning before it sinks into any particular perspective, I had originally thought the unflattering physical descriptions were equally invasive with both the men and the women? Though you're right, Adèle is sexualized in a way that the men are not. I'll have to go back and re-read it.

Once the book enters Manfred's perspective, the objectification is on a whole other level - his head is not a nice place to be. Gorski seems pretty decent though. In the chapters from Gorski's perspective, I don't remember much of that.