Reviews

Three by Valérie Perrin

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sigridvalbjorn's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

acmarinho3's review against another edition

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5.0

Valérie Perrin superou-se. Senti pena por não ter lido este livro com todo o tempo e dedicação que merecia. Uma história complexa, com personagens ricas e bem trabalhadas e um enredo emocionante.

nathalia_alves's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing slow-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

4.75

spenkevich's review against another edition

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4.0

‘They were three, or nothing.’

A good, long book is like a biscuit. It has lots of nooks and crannies to let the butter in. Three, the newest translation of Valérie Perrin since her much lauded [b:Fresh Water for Flowers|52649136|Fresh Water for Flowers|Valérie Perrin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570545558l/52649136._SY75_.jpg|60320931], is a book like this, taking its time to let the relationships and scope of the story breathe in order to craft a quiet epic on friendships tossed about the winds of change and tides of time. Three chronicles the lives of three friends, Nina, Adrien, and Étienne, from childhood through the tumultuous times of young adulthood that can dash dreams upon the rocks, all interwoven with a disappearance in their late teens that threatens to come to light two decades later. Perrin weaves a tale so full of tension as she teases out details, compounding secrets on top of secrets until even the secrets have secrets as the reader will undoubtedly be compulsively flipping pages. Beautifully written and well-translated by Hildegarde Serle, Three examines the fragile ecosystem of childhood friendships, how ‘time separates those who love each other,’ how the bad behaviors of men threaten the safety and sanity of others, but is ultimately a hopeful look at how some bonds can survive time and betrayals and despite it all still be a guiding light when someone needs it most.

‘We think we know everything about our friends, when really we know nothing.’

One of Perrin’s greatest strengths in Three is her balance of being completely absorbed in the lives of the characters yet knowing very little about them at the same time. This is not unlike the trio of friends, it turns out, who share their every waking moment together through school years but, with each new secret or betrayal, find those closest to them are still strangers in many ways. The novel weaves a present narrative set in 2017 with the characters' whole life history, going back and forth each chapter. ‘Étienne is the most rebellious, Adrien the touchiest, Nina the most sensitive,’ we quickly learn during their youth, yet in the scenes set in 2017 they appear even strangers to us, the reader. Perrin slowly reveals details with perfect precision, baiting us along without making anything confusing but making you crave answers. Such as, who is the narrator and how do they know the trio?

’ Today, out of the three, only Adrien still speaks to me. Nina despises me. As for Étienne, it’s me who can longer stand him. And yet, they’ve fascinated me since childhood. I’ve only ever become attached to those three. And to Louise.’

Where does this character fit in? Why? And This is a novel where even the secrets have secrets, and as a self-admitted gossip, I had to know all the answers. Every character seems to have something hidden within them—except for Emmanuel Damamme who is too busy hiding all the letter “M”s in his name and it is no secret he is an abusive husband—and while the novel may be a bit long, it is precisely because of that length we are able to have a feeling of intimacy with the characters in order to make each betrayal stab the reader’s hearts along with their friends. These are dynamic characters and react in ways that feel authentic, even when surprising.

‘In every life there are some befores and afters.’

Perrin so perfectly captures the bonds of youth, showing an intense friendship around making big dreams together (moving to Paris to become a band) and supporting each other along like way. Yet nothing is cast as golden era nostalgia, examining abusive teachers and the longings felt in their lives. Particularly for Nina and Adrienne, each growing up without full parents (Adrienne their father, Nina raised by her grandfather). The aspect of each character’s family functioning as extended family for the three friends brought back many good memories of my own childhood, and how many close friend’s parents I just referred to as Mom and Dad because I practically lived at their homes and they helped raise me. That aspect of the novel really hit home for me.

‘We’re all victims of “the departed” . . .’

In a novel that emphasizes how intertwined lives can become, it also shows how the removal of one member in this careful ecosystem can really upset everything. ‘Their youth, which he thought was a strength, has been jolted, shaken,’ we learn after a tragic accident changes their dynamics forever and threatens to shatter their goals. There are two primary deaths in the novel that change everything that follows, one of which being Clotilde who’s disappearance or possible murder is at the back of the reader’s mind the whole way. Who did it, and why? Through each turn and twist of the novel we see the darkness that lurks in the caverns of human hearts, often born of jealousy, and the book becomes a complex web of motivations and betrayals.

The saddest part, we see, is it is often that men wish to control women. Emmanuel is an opportunist who uses a tragedy in Nina’s life as an opportunity to separate her from her friends, tying her into a controlling relationship that sucks the life out of her. He sees her as his property and would rather see her dead than with another man. Even Étienne is characterized by his misogyny, viewing women as sexual playthings he thinks he can cast aside and takes a career path for the purpose of having power over others. ‘He’d become a cop, and apply the law to stop any other Clotildes, or cheats, from trapping men,’ Perrin tells us, the emphasis being that Étienne believes women’s primary goal is to trap men. This is juxtaposed with Emmauel who is quite literally trying to force Nina to be pregnant against her will to maintain his hold on her.

‘at least you’ve helped that particular life, which is no less important than any other life.’

This is a complex novel and one that is unafraid to create dynamic characters full of flaws. It is the stuff of life, which really works. While some of the situations presented might not be slightly unfortunate to be giving voice too, the message is clear that everyone makes mistakes, everyone has flaws, and we need to love each other despite them. What sort of world would we have if there wasn’t room for love in all the darkness? It is also a novel where people can change and grow, and that we should accept ourselves for who we are. And accept our friends even if we do not fully understand. It should also be noted that this is written through the eyes of a specific character, a writer in fact, which adds a nice layer of perspective and questioning of the narrative.

This is a long novel with a lot of room to breathe, but it races by and truly engulfs you in it’s complexities. Many of the revelations hit hard near the end, though I did find the novels attempt to satisfy every loose end to be, ultimately, a bit unsatisfying. It becomes almost too tightly knotted and convenient in ways that the rest of the novel had been able to avoid by showing that life is a messy endeavour. I was reminded of a review from James Wood in the New Yorker where he wrote about a similar ending:

‘Narrative secrets are not the same as human mysteries, a lesson that novelists seem fated to forget, again and again; the former quickly confess themselves, and fall silent, while the true mysteries go on speaking.’

While this may be a bit harsher than I’d put it, it also points at exactly what I felt about the tidy ending to the novel. Though this is also a very personal and subjective opinion, I just tend to like books that leave you not unlike a cut on the roof of your mouth, something you tongue away at and ponder for days to come, endings that chafe away at your soul a bit with the grit to stick by you. I do see this being a very satisfying ending for other readers though, and I do enjoy how hopeful it was.

‘Thank goodness that life, occasionally, perseveres.’

This book was a wild ride and I quite enjoyed the time spent in Perrin’s words along with her characters. Three will certainly keep you turning pages and will bring back nostalgia for the loved ones of your youth. I found it easy to care for these characters despite their flaws, even when they were such shits, because the dynamics worked so well. There is a wonderful attention to music, with a big playlist of all the characters favorite songs popping up through the pages, and it captures how song lyrics can be so meaningful to us in times of need. A big book with a big heart, Three is a fun read.

3.5/5

‘All that was left was the void of the present. Everything to build.’