A review by sarah_dietrich
Missing Person by Patrick Modiano

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.