Hocus Bogus Review at the Literary Saloon

Pierre Mérot – Mammals

A novel of contemporary ennui, centered on uncle’s life, Mammals refers to the deformities of modern society and how people relate to them.

The mammals are the uncle’s family members, but the circle is as large as the entire society.

A dominating female that psychologically castrates her husband and uncle’s brother, fails to exercise the same powers on our main character. Not because this one is a strong individual in terms of social achievement, but because he chose to be the contrary.

A laid back individual that watches the human race doing all the tricks they were trained for. Like landing in a proper job, finding a long-term mate and paying for some small space they call apartment.

Solitaire, often unemployed, the uncle is drawn to alcohol, but he is harmless to the others. Not very often, though, he has brief episodes of envy for the normal life: a house in the suburbs, a pretty wife, kids, a dog and “some low key cancer”.

A sad novel with a funny twist, Mammals was awarded Prix de Flore 2003.

Most certainly, Mérot is not a flawless author, but is for sure refreshing after so many unsatisfying lectures picked up after reading upraising reviews.

Simone De Beauvoir – All Men Are Mortal

She’s more famous for her personal life than for her literary activity and when her works are mentioned, it’s always the feminism impregnated ones. But apparently she wrote other kinds of things as well. All Men Are Mortal is sort of a classic novel in my opinion. A book to be read when you’re a restless teenager of even later on, like for instance when you’re preparing for an exam and you are craving for an entertaining novel rather than a bunch of boring school books. It is a dissertation about life and death, or more precisely about the meaning of life and the dimension of eternity.

It can be seen with the naked eye that Simone has something from her beloved Jean Paul (Sartre). After all, she is believed to have been reading his volumes before they were sent further for publishing. Plus, she’s got verve.

The high interest and cultivated background in philosophy provided her the fertile ground for tackling a subject of this nature. And there’s plenty of fictional history inside, epic narrative sequences and colorful dialogues. As a mere plot spoiler, the main characters are a young actress and an immortal man whose voyage through time left him with countless memories to tell and plenty of reflective thoughts to share. So we are faced with an existentialist array of ideas, not novel ones at all, but none the less the book wraps up into a nicely told story.