piccoline's review
4.0
I love Marie Redonnet's vibe. Her style is so unique, and the way she vibrates her similar lines against each other, looping and mutating, is so effective. This is another great work, but it never quite rises to the level of her absolutely sublime _Rose Mellie Rose_, nor even quite to the other two novels in that brilliant triptych, _Hotel Splendid_ and _Forever Valley_. There remain some lovely stretches here, but I think the mix of plot and prose isn't quite the perfect mix she had in those three.
That said, as usual she brings it home with great effect. I also appreciated her effort here to cast a wider net, to attempt to speak the larger situation, the inescapable political/societal situation of corruption and exploitation, hidden motives and betrayal. In that sense, it feels still very of the moment. Alas.
That said, as usual she brings it home with great effect. I also appreciated her effort here to cast a wider net, to attempt to speak the larger situation, the inescapable political/societal situation of corruption and exploitation, hidden motives and betrayal. In that sense, it feels still very of the moment. Alas.
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