Scan barcode
A review by jaclyn_sixminutesforme
That Time of Year by Marie NDiaye
4.0
THAT TIME OF YEAR by Marie NDiaye (translated from French by Jordan Stump) was an incredibly unique read, and while it gave me vibes of Kafka's THE TRIAL, it is a narrative that operates in a really distinct way.
.
We are following Herman, a Parisian man vacationing with his wife and child in a village. As August has ended and the weather has started to turn for the season, it is time for the family to return to Paris. It felt eerie to be reading this at the end of August given this plot connection!
.
The narrative opens as Herman realizes his wife and child are missing, and we follow him on this entrancingly nightmarish quest to find them. The community around him has a perplexing hierarchy that seems to make sense to the revolving-door of characters Herman meets, yet as a reader I fell into step with Herman's befuddlement and frustration with the systems. At times I had to remind myself whether he was even still tracking on his original course of inquiry (hence my Kafka-like feeling, I think!).
.
At times feeling like a short story, and in many moments feeling like this world was slowly closing in on Herman, this was a delightfully perplexing read that I virtually devoured in one sitting!
Out 8 September from Two Lines (#gifted).
.
We are following Herman, a Parisian man vacationing with his wife and child in a village. As August has ended and the weather has started to turn for the season, it is time for the family to return to Paris. It felt eerie to be reading this at the end of August given this plot connection!
.
The narrative opens as Herman realizes his wife and child are missing, and we follow him on this entrancingly nightmarish quest to find them. The community around him has a perplexing hierarchy that seems to make sense to the revolving-door of characters Herman meets, yet as a reader I fell into step with Herman's befuddlement and frustration with the systems. At times I had to remind myself whether he was even still tracking on his original course of inquiry (hence my Kafka-like feeling, I think!).
.
At times feeling like a short story, and in many moments feeling like this world was slowly closing in on Herman, this was a delightfully perplexing read that I virtually devoured in one sitting!
Out 8 September from Two Lines (#gifted).