smalefowles's review against another edition
3.0
A mystery shot through with the actual historical darkness. A fuzzy quest for identity. Nothing ever quite comes into focus, so it's difficult to be pulled in very far.
shoba's review against another edition
3.0
“I did not dare tell Hutte, but I felt that ‘the beach man’ was myself.
Though it would not have surprised him if I had confessed it. Hutte was always saying that, in the end, we were all ‘beach men’ and that ‘the sand’- I am quoting his own words- ‘keeps the traces of our footsteps only a few moments.’”
Surprisingly, the story just ended.
“A little girl is returning from the beach, at dusk, with her mother. She is crying for no reason at all, because she would have liked to continue playing. She moves off into the distance. She has already turned the corner of the street, and do not our lives dissolve into the evening as quickly as this grief of childhood?”
Just right.
Though it would not have surprised him if I had confessed it. Hutte was always saying that, in the end, we were all ‘beach men’ and that ‘the sand’- I am quoting his own words- ‘keeps the traces of our footsteps only a few moments.’”
Surprisingly, the story just ended.
“A little girl is returning from the beach, at dusk, with her mother. She is crying for no reason at all, because she would have liked to continue playing. She moves off into the distance. She has already turned the corner of the street, and do not our lives dissolve into the evening as quickly as this grief of childhood?”
Just right.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
5.0
I decided to read some Modiano after he was awarded the 2014 Nobel, and I chose Missing Person because it was one of the few of Modiano's works that I was able to get hold of in English. I'm glad that I decided to read Modiano because I love Missing Person. Missing Person is the story of a search for lost identity, and it examines this theme from many angles. Our protagonist is ready to cling to any potential identity, chasing a thin thread of memory to find his past. His identity is fluid, changing as his search progresses and he finds clues pointing to various potential identities. Modiano has also made it difficult for the reader to identify who is talking, whose thoughts they are reading - conversations become jumbled, the narrative changes time and place without warning, the narration is briefly taken over by a different voice. This theme of identity ties to the French experience during world war two - many people had to flee, go into hiding, assume false identities. Families were separated and people were left, both figuratively and literally, without their identity. As well as being clever & well crafted, Modiano's writing is extremely graceful, beautiful. I'm really looking forward to reading more of his work.
andrew_russell's review
1.0
Writing is an art form that is perhaps unique in the relationship that it allows novels to hold with their readers. Some simply hate. Some simply love. In between is the full gamut of interpretations that can be pulled from a text. This means that even the works of well established and acclaimed authors can be disliked by some readers, and that's fine - don't let anyone ever tell you that your interpretation of a book is 'wrong', especially when their comments are intended merely to point this out, rather than provide any helpful pointers towards an alternative interpretation of the novel in question. The reason I say all this is because this was very much how I felt about Patrick Modiano's Missing Person. I reserve one star ratings for two types of book; those that are fundamentally flawed - riddled with the kinds of errors and oversights that a high-school English teacher would annotate with red pen. The second category of judgement that can possibly lead me to a one-star rating is more subjective and ultimately leads to one conclusion - I got absolutely nothing from the book. Patrick Modiano's book falls into the latter category in this case.
Missing Person has as it's premise something fundamentally intriguing. A man, who has been given the name Guy Roland by his former employer, decides to seek out and determine his past - in fact, he decides to establish his very identity. Gaps in his memory have plagued him and he decides resolutely, almost obsessively, to try and fill in those gaps.
One of the most striking issues that existed with this book is it's dullness. In spite of what seems like an intriguing premise, Modiano adopts a writing style that is referred to in my mind as 'information heavy', meaning that in short it is dense. This seems to be a common trait in European contemporary literature and in particular, translated works. Passages of prose that are packed with dense descriptions, as well as information that is vital to the readers understanding of the narrative, are the hallmark of this style. If you miss one thing, you kind of miss the point entirely, and such is the case with Missing Person. And missing something is very likely if you're bored and boredom is very likely if the prose is well - prosaic.
Added to the writing style is a seemingly complex narrative that demands your attention. It's easy to understand how establishing who exactly you are may lead to such complexity but combine this with dull prose and...well, I'm sure you get the idea.
It may be the case that this is worth a re-read but I think it is more likely to be the case that I'll donate it to some charity shop, so that some other poor sod can discover what boring prose looks like. There are simply too many good books out there to discover - same that this is not one of them.
Missing Person has as it's premise something fundamentally intriguing. A man, who has been given the name Guy Roland by his former employer, decides to seek out and determine his past - in fact, he decides to establish his very identity. Gaps in his memory have plagued him and he decides resolutely, almost obsessively, to try and fill in those gaps.
One of the most striking issues that existed with this book is it's dullness. In spite of what seems like an intriguing premise, Modiano adopts a writing style that is referred to in my mind as 'information heavy', meaning that in short it is dense. This seems to be a common trait in European contemporary literature and in particular, translated works. Passages of prose that are packed with dense descriptions, as well as information that is vital to the readers understanding of the narrative, are the hallmark of this style. If you miss one thing, you kind of miss the point entirely, and such is the case with Missing Person. And missing something is very likely if you're bored and boredom is very likely if the prose is well - prosaic.
Added to the writing style is a seemingly complex narrative that demands your attention. It's easy to understand how establishing who exactly you are may lead to such complexity but combine this with dull prose and...well, I'm sure you get the idea.
It may be the case that this is worth a re-read but I think it is more likely to be the case that I'll donate it to some charity shop, so that some other poor sod can discover what boring prose looks like. There are simply too many good books out there to discover - same that this is not one of them.
miss_cat's review against another edition
4.0
Very atmospheric, not a completely linear plotline. But I quite liked it actually. A bit meandering at times, however.
lucrezia30's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
right_kidney's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is how I feel when I forget my password and have to try and figure it out
kjellouise's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
vitsa's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the way the story unfolded with Guy slowly finding out who he was.
The detective part was fast moving and felt very much like a film from the 60s.
I really wish there was more of a resolution, the ending did not feel completely satisfactory.
The detective part was fast moving and felt very much like a film from the 60s.
I really wish there was more of a resolution, the ending did not feel completely satisfactory.