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Author: Nicolas Mathieu,translated by Sam Taylor
Publisher: Other Press
ISBN: 9781635421958
Author: Nicolas Mathieu, translated by Sam Taylor
Publisher: Other Press
ISBN: 9781635421958
As an adage, we use that on many occasions. In this case, there’s the distinction of it covering not just one, but two distinct factors. One concerns the length of a book you’re intending to read. The other concerns what the characters in that book are about to go through.
So…
Number one: On one hand, sometimes we’re just not in the mood to devote several days to a 300-page novel in which we must learn names, get comfortable with locations, and discover many new intentions. Novellas like this one—less than 100 pages—provide an appealing alternative. On the other hand, when you become absorbed with a gripping narrative, sometimes you don’t want it to end so quickly.
Be careful what you wish for, reader.
Number two: The main character in Rose Royal, the pretty, enigmatic, lovelorn Rose herself, turns out to suffer from a number of personal inner torments, not the least of which is to want for her present what has burned her in the past.
Be careful what you wish for, Rose.
Rose Royal is a novella for those who don’t mind getting lost in a literary version of a smoky tavern, where liquor loosens lips for just a few short hours. But buyer beware: even if it’s not your precise cup of literary vodka, you may wish it lasted longer than the amount of time it will take you to read it.
Rose Royal is not a whodunit as much as a who-might-do-what, centered around a desolately vivacious middle-aged divorcé, her best friend, a new man in the divorcé’s life, memories, bars, hotels, bedrooms, a handgun and—despite being just 84 pages—a few other elements along the way.
This is the French author’s third novel. His first was adapted into a television movie, and his second won France’s most valued prize for literature. His British-born translator (who also lived in France and the U.S.) has worked on more than sixty books and has written several novels of his own.
Yes, the book can be entirely worthwhile and still not necessarily be your cup of literary vodka. For example, you may notice how a few words, comments, thoughts, and phrases jump out at you every once in a while (often sexual or expletive in nature) almost as if they’re from a different book. That may be jarring, but not often enough to spoil the overall enjoyment. It’s not entirely clear if this is a translation issue or a storytelling issue. But it does make you wonder how a longer book would have fared, simply by virtue of the fact that a longer book would have had even more sex and more reasons for saucy language. As a result, it may have all blended in a little better rather than jumped out.
But once again, that’s not reason enough to pass up the novella. Just be careful what you wish for.