Missing Person
by Patrick Modiano
Member Reviews
This is a kind of detective story, with lots of Simenonish mid-20th century Paris atmosphere. An amnesiac private detective is trying to track down his own earlier life. Modiano is obviously a big fan of unanswered questions, so he never really tells us when the foreground story is set, but we are allowed to realise that the key events in the back-story took place during the German occupation. The main characters are all more-or-less from the generation of Modiano's parents, so we're probably somewhere in the late fifties, about twenty years before the book was written.
Of course, it turns out that every piece of information that our detective manages to discover about himself only raises more questions. The witnesses who could have given him the full story are either dead or have disappeared; his own memories, when they start to come back, are not entirely trustworthy; names and addresses turn out to be false; individual stories refuse to connect together into a closed narrative. show more If the past is another country, then as far as Modiano is concerned he will always be an illegal immigrant there. Obviously a lot of this is Modiano dealing with his own peculiar background, but it does also seem to be saying more general things about the - possibly misleading - ways in which memory and narrative work together. show less
Of course, it turns out that every piece of information that our detective manages to discover about himself only raises more questions. The witnesses who could have given him the full story are either dead or have disappeared; his own memories, when they start to come back, are not entirely trustworthy; names and addresses turn out to be false; individual stories refuse to connect together into a closed narrative. show more If the past is another country, then as far as Modiano is concerned he will always be an illegal immigrant there. Obviously a lot of this is Modiano dealing with his own peculiar background, but it does also seem to be saying more general things about the - possibly misleading - ways in which memory and narrative work together. show less
Guy Roland describes himself as nothing. And he might just be right. Certainly the name ‘Guy Roland’ is as made up as his dubious identity papers. But when Hutte, at whose detective agency he has worked for the past ten years, got him the name and papers, he thought he was doing him a favour. With no memory of his past, Guy might as well be ‘Guy’. And something also must have forewarned Guy not to search too assiduously for himself, because he has been working at a detective agency for ten years before he even begins to search in earnest. By now the trail is mostly cold. As are the bodies that many people tell him are just part of the past.
With elements of noire — fog shrouded Parisian nights, murders witnessed or abetted, false identities, and a host of Russian, American, and British ex-pats — Modiano’s novel leaps the boundaries of genre. Neither the hard-bitten detective story, nor the existentialist mire. For how could the nothing that is Guy have enough presence show more to even define himself through action? Guy is not much more than smoke, and like memories of childhood, ever fleeting and retreating. Even his best clues lead him astray. And when he does settle upon who he thinks he might have been, he is as uncertain as he might be if he had simply invented his past.
The writing here is crisp and pressing. And the pacing is precise. Even when you think the novel may be headed toward a satisfying (in one sense) denouement it switches back and leaves you, along with Guy, bereft.
Highly recommended. show less
With elements of noire — fog shrouded Parisian nights, murders witnessed or abetted, false identities, and a host of Russian, American, and British ex-pats — Modiano’s novel leaps the boundaries of genre. Neither the hard-bitten detective story, nor the existentialist mire. For how could the nothing that is Guy have enough presence show more to even define himself through action? Guy is not much more than smoke, and like memories of childhood, ever fleeting and retreating. Even his best clues lead him astray. And when he does settle upon who he thinks he might have been, he is as uncertain as he might be if he had simply invented his past.
The writing here is crisp and pressing. And the pacing is precise. Even when you think the novel may be headed toward a satisfying (in one sense) denouement it switches back and leaves you, along with Guy, bereft.
Highly recommended. show less
Guy Roland hasn’t known his true identity for at least a decade, since Paris was occupied during WWII. His name isn’t his own. It was given to him by his boss, Hutte, the owner of the detective agency where Guy has worked since he hired Hutte to discover his identity. It never happened. Now Hutte has retired to Nice, leaving Guy with time to search for clues to his past.
He criss-crosses Paris talking to people, garnering clues, doing research at Hutte’s empty office, and getting records from files through Hutte’s contacts. People share their memories, photos and mementos with Guy. He gets closer to his old identity until he’s pretty sure he’s there. Then he wants to find out what happened to his friends, which takes him eventually to Polynesia.
Modiano’s writing (and the translation) is entrancing, enthralling. The closing thought of the story as Guy peruses a childhood photo in which one of his lost companions is crying is “do not our lives dissolve into the evening show more as quickly as this grief of childhood?” show less
He criss-crosses Paris talking to people, garnering clues, doing research at Hutte’s empty office, and getting records from files through Hutte’s contacts. People share their memories, photos and mementos with Guy. He gets closer to his old identity until he’s pretty sure he’s there. Then he wants to find out what happened to his friends, which takes him eventually to Polynesia.
Modiano’s writing (and the translation) is entrancing, enthralling. The closing thought of the story as Guy peruses a childhood photo in which one of his lost companions is crying is “do not our lives dissolve into the evening show more as quickly as this grief of childhood?” show less
Ten years ago, amnesiac Guy Rowland hired a private investigator to figure out who he was and where he came from. Soon afterwards, the PI gave Guy a new identity and a job as the PI's assistant, saying that sometimes it's best not to remember who you are. But now that his good friend and employer has retired, Guy again begins his search for identity.
Reading this book made me understand why Modiano won the Nobel Prize in literature. The prose was almost poetic, and the imagery was gripping. For instance, he found a drained, emotionally dying clue to his past in a run-down bar. The whole chapter was filled with coffin and morgue imagery, complete with an "embalmed man" who observed everything, no matter how stimulating, without blinking an eye. All of Modiano's chapters were set up in this way - with vivid imagery fitting the clue that he had found - though the imagery was always dark and mysterious.
Unsurprising for a book about amnesia, the over-arching theme of the story was show more identity. Who am I? Does my past change who I am? These questions are explored as Guy's own vision of who he is transforms as he gets more clues. We can only wonder at the end if he's really found his real self, or if he's just adopted the identity of a man who fits the person Guy wants to be.
I definitely urge you to read Missing Person. I hope I find the time to read more Modiano in the future. show less
Reading this book made me understand why Modiano won the Nobel Prize in literature. The prose was almost poetic, and the imagery was gripping. For instance, he found a drained, emotionally dying clue to his past in a run-down bar. The whole chapter was filled with coffin and morgue imagery, complete with an "embalmed man" who observed everything, no matter how stimulating, without blinking an eye. All of Modiano's chapters were set up in this way - with vivid imagery fitting the clue that he had found - though the imagery was always dark and mysterious.
Unsurprising for a book about amnesia, the over-arching theme of the story was show more identity. Who am I? Does my past change who I am? These questions are explored as Guy's own vision of who he is transforms as he gets more clues. We can only wonder at the end if he's really found his real self, or if he's just adopted the identity of a man who fits the person Guy wants to be.
I definitely urge you to read Missing Person. I hope I find the time to read more Modiano in the future. show less
missing person by Patrick Mondiano 5/5
Mondiano weaves a mesmerizing tale of search for what one once was.
The setting, post WWII France, lends layers of mystery to his search for himself. Our protagonist has memory only of the last 10 years of his life and has reached the point that he cannot continue to live in ignorance of his past. He follows faint threads, some leading nowhere, some bearing slight fruit.
The success or failure of his quest is not the most important part of the story. The quest is the thing, the searching, probing, meeting and interviewing people he may or may not have known in his previous life.
Does it matter who we were in the past? Is it possible to insert ourselves into another's life? Would we even want to. Are we able to manufacture a past for ourselves? While these questions are not answered, the fact that they are asked makes for a fascinating story.
Highly Recommended.
Mondiano weaves a mesmerizing tale of search for what one once was.
The setting, post WWII France, lends layers of mystery to his search for himself. Our protagonist has memory only of the last 10 years of his life and has reached the point that he cannot continue to live in ignorance of his past. He follows faint threads, some leading nowhere, some bearing slight fruit.
The success or failure of his quest is not the most important part of the story. The quest is the thing, the searching, probing, meeting and interviewing people he may or may not have known in his previous life.
Does it matter who we were in the past? Is it possible to insert ourselves into another's life? Would we even want to. Are we able to manufacture a past for ourselves? While these questions are not answered, the fact that they are asked makes for a fascinating story.
Highly Recommended.
داستان ه��چون کابوسی است نرم و آهسته و طولانی در مه با تصاویری که پس از بیداری تا ساعتها در ذهن رژه میرود و تا روزها در ذهن میماند. و آدمهایی که از دل تاریکی میآیند و در دل برف و سرما و بی سرانجام ناپدید میشوند. آدمهایی که هیچ نیستند مگر نیمرخی ضدنور در بالکن کافهای بارانی... برخلاف ترجمه ضعیف (هرچند روان) در این کتاب بیش از دیگر آثار مودیانو شناور شدم.
"[B]ut what she said." [end of text] — Kafka, "The Castle"
Modiano, is, in some way, the opposite of Handke: we sense he is always making a mistake (Handke writes "Deep Blue"). Our author is constructing a story of loss whose heroines, unlike in Sebald (Austerlitz), are not stored in carbonic (maid) nor celluloid (mother). Here, we are seeking the Polaroid, going after the (ephemeral) magazine, recalling the issue our chief character borrows with a promise and fails to return. A history of magazines not returned. Nobody seems to ask any questions. Eager to believe. He is always responding 'yes' as if at a séance or motivational interview. And we sense our narrator has never actually left that office full of books of faded directories bequeathed at the outset of his journey - playing, instead, an Oulipian game of construction: semantic connections, constellations (and makeup) on empty space.
But this is just a kind of bad writing (there are good and bad ways to do Oulipo), show more arising from the space of imagination and always making a mistake. Among those we know to practice confabulation (I am seeking a less pejorative term), O'Connor's efforts are most frail, Joyce Carol Oates a little better with history to stand on, Murnane's are more complex (Because he is always scraping the imaginary landscape to the bone. (This is how, at his most successful, we are occasionally getting the so-called Murnane-sentence, hardly more than a phrase, which is trying to go a little deeper.)) It sometimes takes more imagination to do nothing at all. Modiano, who has surely read Kafka (The Castle), may have done better to cut our novella short mid-sentence during that scene adrift in the Swiss Alps (also the halting point of my memory of the text). show less
Hutte, for instance, used to quote the case of a fellow he called "the beach man." This man had spent forty years of his life on beaches or by the sides of swimming pools, chatting pleasantly with summer visitors and rich idlers. He is to be seen, in his bathing costume, in the corners and backgrounds of thousands of holiday snaps, among groups of happy people, but no one knew his name and why he was there. And no one noticed when one day he vanished from the photographs.
A.S. Byatt once noted she finished David Mitchell's Ghostwritten at a busy airport baggage carousel and found the location infinitely appropriate. Likewise I found myself this morning in a darkened swirl of insomnia and read the final 100 pages of Missing Person. Periodically I stared about our quiet living room. I looked at where this afternoon I'll put the Christmas tree I buy at the supermarket. I looked out the window and the neighbors' seasonal lights. I don't question why we don't employ our own. I just show more don't. Life is often hazy and ill-defined. I wish I had the means at the disposal of Modiano's protagonist. I certainly liked this one better than my previous exposure to the Nobel Laureate. I think the sinister whispers of history were significant here. I'd recommend Missing Person as a premium point of departure for this strange author. show less
A.S. Byatt once noted she finished David Mitchell's Ghostwritten at a busy airport baggage carousel and found the location infinitely appropriate. Likewise I found myself this morning in a darkened swirl of insomnia and read the final 100 pages of Missing Person. Periodically I stared about our quiet living room. I looked at where this afternoon I'll put the Christmas tree I buy at the supermarket. I looked out the window and the neighbors' seasonal lights. I don't question why we don't employ our own. I just show more don't. Life is often hazy and ill-defined. I wish I had the means at the disposal of Modiano's protagonist. I certainly liked this one better than my previous exposure to the Nobel Laureate. I think the sinister whispers of history were significant here. I'd recommend Missing Person as a premium point of departure for this strange author. show less
The Independent says (on the back cover) that it's a strange and elegant novel. At first I wasn't taken, and thought it was probably too philosophical or somehow too elegant for me. But once I got started, I submitted to the foggy atmosphere of the cyptic story and felt no desire for the sun to come out.
Winner of 1978's Prix Goncourt, 'Missing Person' is a spare, haunting tale of amnesia and identity. Skillfully interweaving letters, official reports and entries from telephone and street directories with first-person narration, Modiano slowly and painstakingly builds a complex plot and considerable suspense. Both a classic mystery in the noir mode and a sophisticated meditation on the problem of personal identity, 'Missing Person' is a very good read.
When the 2014 Nobel prize winner in literature was announced, I had no idea who he was.
My library has many of his works. Largely in French. I know my French is not good enough to read the work of a Nobel prize winner.
I picked this book because it was fairly short. I good intro. And it is translated, of course.
And wow. What a little book. 4.5 stars.
This is the story of one "Guy Roland", who is trying to find his own history--lost to him sometime during WWII in occupied France. Who was he? What happened to him?
The pacing is fascinating, the cadence of the language is unusual. The story itself unwinds like a mystery�óîbut there are so many false leads. Or are they?
The ending, though, is less satisfying.We know what happened to one of his friends, maybe 2--but the others? What really happened to him? What was his original identity? What were they involved in? If he was really left to die on the mountain, how did he get out?
My library has many of his works. Largely in French. I know my French is not good enough to read the work of a Nobel prize winner.
I picked this book because it was fairly short. I good intro. And it is translated, of course.
And wow. What a little book. 4.5 stars.
This is the story of one "Guy Roland", who is trying to find his own history--lost to him sometime during WWII in occupied France. Who was he? What happened to him?
The pacing is fascinating, the cadence of the language is unusual. The story itself unwinds like a mystery�óîbut there are so many false leads. Or are they?
The ending, though, is less satisfying.
Guy Roland desconoce su pasado, solo conoce el mas reciente, en el que ha trabajado como detective privado. Al jubilarse su jefe decide investigar su propia vida, y siguiendo la pista que le proporcionan dos personas que lo reconocen de su vida anterior por haberlo encontrado con frecuencia en un club nocturno, es capaz de descubir algunas pistas y empieza a recordar. El protagonista de la novela sigue las pistas con sensacion de irrealidad, atribuyendose identidades que quizas no le pertenecieron, encontrando personas que no parecen recordarle. Esta es una obra inteligente, en la que el autor consigue mantener el suspense, y en la que el lector puede disfrutar de una novela bien construida y muy bien escrita, un verdadero placer.
2.5 out of 5.
He's a talented writer for sure but even the interesting philosophical questions of self didn't engage me like I wanted them to. I'm, again, pretty sure that's my own failing and not the authors - but his chilly, sparse storytelling will work really well for one type of audience and not-so-great for every other. Talk amongst yourselves to see which one you are - and remember that a prize like the Nobel is meant to acknowledge the entire body of an author's work. This, as a starting point, may seem on the weaker side - but it is only one book. I'm curious to see others, if not rushing out to do so.
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2014/11/13/missing-person/
He's a talented writer for sure but even the interesting philosophical questions of self didn't engage me like I wanted them to. I'm, again, pretty sure that's my own failing and not the authors - but his chilly, sparse storytelling will work really well for one type of audience and not-so-great for every other. Talk amongst yourselves to see which one you are - and remember that a prize like the Nobel is meant to acknowledge the entire body of an author's work. This, as a starting point, may seem on the weaker side - but it is only one book. I'm curious to see others, if not rushing out to do so.
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2014/11/13/missing-person/
2.5 out of 5.
He's a talented writer for sure but even the interesting philosophical questions of self didn't engage me like I wanted them to. I'm, again, pretty sure that's my own failing and not the authors - but his chilly, sparse storytelling will work really well for one type of audience and not-so-great for every other. Talk amongst yourselves to see which one you are - and remember that a prize like the Nobel is meant to acknowledge the entire body of an author's work. This, as a starting point, may seem on the weaker side - but it is only one book. I'm curious to see others, if not rushing out to do so.
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2014/11/13/missing-person/
He's a talented writer for sure but even the interesting philosophical questions of self didn't engage me like I wanted them to. I'm, again, pretty sure that's my own failing and not the authors - but his chilly, sparse storytelling will work really well for one type of audience and not-so-great for every other. Talk amongst yourselves to see which one you are - and remember that a prize like the Nobel is meant to acknowledge the entire body of an author's work. This, as a starting point, may seem on the weaker side - but it is only one book. I'm curious to see others, if not rushing out to do so.
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2014/11/13/missing-person/
This is a well designed and thought-out book. Not formulaic; no sequels expected. When Modiano received the Nobel, the article in The Washington Post recommended that this was the most accessible of his books. It took me some time to get a handle on the plot. I admit that it was my own hubris that prevented me from reading the back cover--had I done so, I would have understood that the protagonist was more than simply an amnesiac. I won't say more (no spoiler alert), but I humbly suggest that knowing more may help the reader understand what is going on sooner.
I found it interesting that all of the Modiano books available at the time I was looking were translated by different writers. I would think that once a writer or their publisher found a good translator, they would stick with that one. What do I know?
I found it interesting that all of the Modiano books available at the time I was looking were translated by different writers. I would think that once a writer or their publisher found a good translator, they would stick with that one. What do I know?
As always: retracing memories, retracing lost people, places, lifes and finding a person; oneself. As always, a masterpiece from an author that has become essential for me. (Read a Swedish translation.)
Enganxa. La traducció de Joan Casas és molt bona.
Patrick Modiano est l’écrivain de la mémoire et de l’identité. Ce livre en est l’expression parfaite puisqu’il met en scène une personne amnésique qui tente, par le regard des autres, de comprendre qui il est. Un roman duquel il ne faut pas attendre de réponses, plutôt la description toujours un peu floue d’un mal-être persistant. J’ai lu (ou plutôt écouté) ce roman en apnée, avec l’envie d’arriver au bout pour enfin réussir à en sortir la tête pour reprendre ma respiration.
Modiano heeft iets met mensen die geobsedeerd zijn door het verleden. Ook in deze roman, waar een zekere Guy Roland op zoek gaat naar wie hij eigenlijk is, nadat hij tien jaar geleden door een volledige amnesie getroffen is. Het is een queeste naar zichzelf, maar dan via anderen, want hij fladdert van de ene contactpersoon naar de andere, en steeds verschuift het beeld: “ah, was ik die misschien, of neen, wellicht was ik die”. Geleidelijk aan dringen zich steeds langer wordende herinneringen aan hem op en kleeft Guy zelfs een naam op de man die hij vroeger was en de mensen met wie hij in contact kwam (waarbij ook impliciet de oorlog in beeld komt). Maar subtiel geeft Modiano ook aan dat dit plots herleefde verleden wellicht heel onbetrouwbaar is. En de lijst van personen die Guy meer zouden kunnen vertellen, eindigt niet; aan het slot krijg je het gevoel dat hij nooit een definitief zicht zal krijgen op zichzelf.
En dat is – vermoed ik – de boodschap die Modiano in dit show more boekje heeft gelegd: het verleden is als een schim die je nooit echt kan vatten, als een horizon die altijd maar verder wijkt naarmate je dichter komt. Het klinkt erg pessimistisch, want het betekent ook dat je nooit echt greep kan krijgen op je eigen identiteit, nooit kan vatten wie je in wezen bent of waar je vandaan komt. Bij het begin van de roman krijgt Guy de raad: “il faut vivre au présent”, een waarheid als een koe, maar zo stellen we met Modiano vast, blijkbaar hebben mensen daar geen boodschap aan en blijven ze vastzitten aan hun verleden. Misschien is dat één van de kernen van het mens-zijn?
Modiano blijft me verbazen: het is alsof hij bewust geen spectactulaire schrijver wil zijn, hij schrijft over "kleine" mensen in een heel concrete setting (meestal Parijs), in een onopgesmukte maar toch vlotte stijl. show less
En dat is – vermoed ik – de boodschap die Modiano in dit show more boekje heeft gelegd: het verleden is als een schim die je nooit echt kan vatten, als een horizon die altijd maar verder wijkt naarmate je dichter komt. Het klinkt erg pessimistisch, want het betekent ook dat je nooit echt greep kan krijgen op je eigen identiteit, nooit kan vatten wie je in wezen bent of waar je vandaan komt. Bij het begin van de roman krijgt Guy de raad: “il faut vivre au présent”, een waarheid als een koe, maar zo stellen we met Modiano vast, blijkbaar hebben mensen daar geen boodschap aan en blijven ze vastzitten aan hun verleden. Misschien is dat één van de kernen van het mens-zijn?
Modiano blijft me verbazen: het is alsof hij bewust geen spectactulaire schrijver wil zijn, hij schrijft over "kleine" mensen in een heel concrete setting (meestal Parijs), in een onopgesmukte maar toch vlotte stijl. show less
Guy Roland est un détective privé qui n'a pas de passé. C'est à la quête de ce passé qu'il nous mène: tantôt suspens, tantôt questionnement sur l'identité et le soi, ce roman retrace les pas d'un homme frappé d'amnésie. Le rythme, bien calculé, fait en sorte que le lecteur ne peut poser le livre : ce n'est pas une narration empreinte d'action, mais les étapes se succèdent vite... surtout le style est d'une telle fluidité que l'on ne se rend pas compte de la vitesse à laquelle passent les pages. La fin trouve une résolution, mais rien n'est concret : un doute planera toujours et le lecteur, à l'instar du narrateur, se demandera : le destin aurait pu-t-il être autre?
Årets Nobelprisvinner endelig tilgjengelig på norsk!
Patrick Modiano (f. 1945) fikk som kjent Nobelprisen i litteratur tidligere i høst. Tre av bøkene hans har tidligere vært utgitt på norsk ("Gater i mørke", på norsk første gang i 1979 - "Ungdomstid", på norsk første gang i 1982 - "Søndager i august", på norsk første gang i 1988), men ikke en eneste en av dem var å oppdrive på norsk da kåringen fant sted.
Det har vært knyttet stor spenning til gjenutgivelsen av bøkene, men forlaget ønsket først å revidere sine oversettelser. Derfor har det tatt litt tid før bøkene ble tilgjengelige på nytt. Jeg har selvsagt kjøpt alle tre - nydelige, litt mer enn vanlig forseggjorte paperbacks - og har sett veldig frem til omsider å få lest disse.
Modiano har for øvrig en formidabel produksjon av bøker bak seg, jf. Wikipedia, hvor hele hans bibliografi er listet opp. Med tanke på den debatten som Jan Kjærstad nylig har reist om at de fleste forfatterskap er over show more etter fem bøker, er det interessant å merke seg at det var spesielt i begynnelsen av Modianos karriere han var en prisbelønt forfatter (i alle fall dersom informasjonen på Wikipedia stemmer). Modiano debuterte som forfatter i 1968 og "Gater i mørke" ("Rue des boutiques obscures" på originalspråket) var hans sjette bok.
"Jeg er ingenting. Ikke mer enn en uklar silhuett, den kvelden, på en fortauskafé. Jeg satt og ventet på at regnet skulle gi seg, en skur som hadde begynt idet Hutte gikk.
Noen timer før hadde vi møttes for siste gang i Byråets lokaler. Hutte satt som vanlig bak det massive skrivebordet, men hadde beholdt frakken på, slik at det hersket en umiskjennelig oppbruddsstemning. Jeg satt rett overfor ham, i skinnstolen som var beregnet på klientene. Det skarpe lyset fra opallampen blendet meg.
- Ja, ja, Guy ... Nå er det slutt ..., sa Hutte og sukket." (side 7)
Bokas jeg-person er Guy Roland. Han har vært ansatt i Huttes privatdetektivbyrå de siste åtte årene. Byrået Hutte startet i 1947 og som hadde hatt atskillige medarbeidere før Guy ... Deres oppgave var å skaffe klientene det Hutte kalte "mondene opplysninger", og dette foregikk blant folk av "det gode selskap". Guy lider av hukommelsestap, og nå har han bestemt seg for at han skal reise til Nice og jakte på sin fortid. Det var Hutte som i sin tid hjalp ham med falske identitetspapirer, og det var også Hutte som ga ham navnet Guy Roland. Guys identitet og fortid forsvant jo med hukommelsestapet.
Så starter jakten på fortiden med kun én liten ledetråd til å begynne med. Et eneste navn, som skal lede ham til det neste navnet og som igjen skal lede ham videre ... Noen relasjoner tåler at han er åpen om sitt hukommelsestap, andre ikke. Det er heller ikke uten smerte at Guy graver i fortiden sin, ikke minst når han tror at han er på rett spor, bare for å måtte gi slipp på noe som kunne ha tydet på en mer lovende fortid enn hva som tydeligvis har blitt ham til del. Gamle bilder og brev, for ikke å snakke om rene tilfeldigheter, gjør at Guy sakte men sikkert nærmer seg sannheten om seg selv. Den vakre kvinnen Gay Orlow er det flere som kjenner til, og en hel del tyder på at hun og miljøet rundt henne kan bli nøkkelen til Guys fortid. Gay selv tok selvmord mens hun fremdeles var ganske ung.
"Underlige mennesker. Av dem som går gjennom livet uten å etterlate seg spor. Vi snakket ofte om dem, Hutte og jeg - skapninger som forsvinner som dugg for solen. De dukker plutselig opp, glitrer en stakket stund, og vekk er de. Skjønnhetsdronninger. Gigoloer. Svermere. De fleste av dem var ubestemmelige selv i levende live, lik vanndamp som aldri fortettes." (side 56)
Og da er vi kanskje ved noe av kjernen i romanen; for hva er egentlig et menneske? Når ingen husker eller forbinder noe ved en, heller ikke en selv? Hva er da igjen av et levd liv? Og hjelper det egentlig å finne sin fortid når man i grunnen ikke har satt noen spor etter seg? For Guy er jakten på egen fortid på mange måter det eneste han har å klamre seg til. Uten fortiden er han ... ingenting. Han følger billedlig sett en hel del mørke gater, hvor han må snu og gå tilbake for å finne en ny mørk gate ... Og det han etter hvert finner - ja, hva er egentlig det? Et slags levd liv?
Jo flere løse brikker Guy klarer å få tak i fra sin fortid, desto enklere skal det etter hvert bli for ham å huske noen bruddstykker.
"Et flyktig bilde fór gjennom meg, som bruddstykkene av en drøm man prøver å gripe tak i idet man våkner, for å rekonstruere hele drømmen. Jeg så meg selv komme gående i et mørkt Paris og dytte opp døren til denne bygningen i rue Cambacérès. Så ble jeg plutselig blendet, og i noen sekunder så jeg ingenting, på grunn av den brå overgangen mellom det hvite lyset i entreen og mørket ute." (side 97)
Man bør ikke forvente mye spenning på det ytre planet når man leser "Gater i mørket". Det meste foregår i Guys hode, der han strever med å finne noe som er hans. Bakenfor eller under det hele - om ikke som en slags undertekst, men kanskje mer som en refleksjon det er naturlig å gjøre seg som leser - ligger det større spørsmål av eksistensiell art: For er ikke de fleste av oss "skapninger som (en dag) forsvinner som dugg for solen"? Som ikke kommer til å etterlate oss mange spor, og som derfor kommer til å forsvinne fra jordens overflate og etter hvert bli glemt? Sånn sett er Guys hukommelsestap et slags bilde på hva de fleste av oss har i vente en dag. At vi bare blir borte, som om vi aldri har vært her ... som et ingenting i det store og det hele ... Slik som slutten antyder: "Hun har allerede rundet hjørnet, og våre liv, forsvinner de ikke i tussmørket, like raskt som denne barnesorgen?" (side 197)
"Gater i mørke" er meget godt skrevet, uten at jeg vil påstå at jeg kunne ha gjettet at Patrick Modiano ville ha fått Nobelprisen i litteratur dersom jeg hadde lest nettopp denne boka før pristildelingen. Men kanskje har jeg enda til gode å lese hans aller beste bøker?
For øvrig vil jeg fremheve at boka er lett tilgjengelig. Men selv om den er lettlest, krever den likevel årvåkenhet fra leserens side. Det ligger nemlig mye meningsinnhold i setningene og mellom linjene, og dette kan man fort gå glipp av dersom man rusher i vei.
Jeg gleder meg allerede til å lese de to øvrige nyutgitte bøkene av Patrick Modiano!
Utgitt i Frankrike: 1978
Originaltittel: Rue des boutiques obscures
Utgitt første gang på norsk: 1979
Denne utgaven er utgitt: 2014
Forlag: Cappelen Damm
Oversatt: Mona Lange
ISBN: 978-82-02-47973-2 show less
Patrick Modiano (f. 1945) fikk som kjent Nobelprisen i litteratur tidligere i høst. Tre av bøkene hans har tidligere vært utgitt på norsk ("Gater i mørke", på norsk første gang i 1979 - "Ungdomstid", på norsk første gang i 1982 - "Søndager i august", på norsk første gang i 1988), men ikke en eneste en av dem var å oppdrive på norsk da kåringen fant sted.
Det har vært knyttet stor spenning til gjenutgivelsen av bøkene, men forlaget ønsket først å revidere sine oversettelser. Derfor har det tatt litt tid før bøkene ble tilgjengelige på nytt. Jeg har selvsagt kjøpt alle tre - nydelige, litt mer enn vanlig forseggjorte paperbacks - og har sett veldig frem til omsider å få lest disse.
Modiano har for øvrig en formidabel produksjon av bøker bak seg, jf. Wikipedia, hvor hele hans bibliografi er listet opp. Med tanke på den debatten som Jan Kjærstad nylig har reist om at de fleste forfatterskap er over show more etter fem bøker, er det interessant å merke seg at det var spesielt i begynnelsen av Modianos karriere han var en prisbelønt forfatter (i alle fall dersom informasjonen på Wikipedia stemmer). Modiano debuterte som forfatter i 1968 og "Gater i mørke" ("Rue des boutiques obscures" på originalspråket) var hans sjette bok.
"Jeg er ingenting. Ikke mer enn en uklar silhuett, den kvelden, på en fortauskafé. Jeg satt og ventet på at regnet skulle gi seg, en skur som hadde begynt idet Hutte gikk.
Noen timer før hadde vi møttes for siste gang i Byråets lokaler. Hutte satt som vanlig bak det massive skrivebordet, men hadde beholdt frakken på, slik at det hersket en umiskjennelig oppbruddsstemning. Jeg satt rett overfor ham, i skinnstolen som var beregnet på klientene. Det skarpe lyset fra opallampen blendet meg.
- Ja, ja, Guy ... Nå er det slutt ..., sa Hutte og sukket." (side 7)
Bokas jeg-person er Guy Roland. Han har vært ansatt i Huttes privatdetektivbyrå de siste åtte årene. Byrået Hutte startet i 1947 og som hadde hatt atskillige medarbeidere før Guy ... Deres oppgave var å skaffe klientene det Hutte kalte "mondene opplysninger", og dette foregikk blant folk av "det gode selskap". Guy lider av hukommelsestap, og nå har han bestemt seg for at han skal reise til Nice og jakte på sin fortid. Det var Hutte som i sin tid hjalp ham med falske identitetspapirer, og det var også Hutte som ga ham navnet Guy Roland. Guys identitet og fortid forsvant jo med hukommelsestapet.
Så starter jakten på fortiden med kun én liten ledetråd til å begynne med. Et eneste navn, som skal lede ham til det neste navnet og som igjen skal lede ham videre ... Noen relasjoner tåler at han er åpen om sitt hukommelsestap, andre ikke. Det er heller ikke uten smerte at Guy graver i fortiden sin, ikke minst når han tror at han er på rett spor, bare for å måtte gi slipp på noe som kunne ha tydet på en mer lovende fortid enn hva som tydeligvis har blitt ham til del. Gamle bilder og brev, for ikke å snakke om rene tilfeldigheter, gjør at Guy sakte men sikkert nærmer seg sannheten om seg selv. Den vakre kvinnen Gay Orlow er det flere som kjenner til, og en hel del tyder på at hun og miljøet rundt henne kan bli nøkkelen til Guys fortid. Gay selv tok selvmord mens hun fremdeles var ganske ung.
"Underlige mennesker. Av dem som går gjennom livet uten å etterlate seg spor. Vi snakket ofte om dem, Hutte og jeg - skapninger som forsvinner som dugg for solen. De dukker plutselig opp, glitrer en stakket stund, og vekk er de. Skjønnhetsdronninger. Gigoloer. Svermere. De fleste av dem var ubestemmelige selv i levende live, lik vanndamp som aldri fortettes." (side 56)
Og da er vi kanskje ved noe av kjernen i romanen; for hva er egentlig et menneske? Når ingen husker eller forbinder noe ved en, heller ikke en selv? Hva er da igjen av et levd liv? Og hjelper det egentlig å finne sin fortid når man i grunnen ikke har satt noen spor etter seg? For Guy er jakten på egen fortid på mange måter det eneste han har å klamre seg til. Uten fortiden er han ... ingenting. Han følger billedlig sett en hel del mørke gater, hvor han må snu og gå tilbake for å finne en ny mørk gate ... Og det han etter hvert finner - ja, hva er egentlig det? Et slags levd liv?
Jo flere løse brikker Guy klarer å få tak i fra sin fortid, desto enklere skal det etter hvert bli for ham å huske noen bruddstykker.
"Et flyktig bilde fór gjennom meg, som bruddstykkene av en drøm man prøver å gripe tak i idet man våkner, for å rekonstruere hele drømmen. Jeg så meg selv komme gående i et mørkt Paris og dytte opp døren til denne bygningen i rue Cambacérès. Så ble jeg plutselig blendet, og i noen sekunder så jeg ingenting, på grunn av den brå overgangen mellom det hvite lyset i entreen og mørket ute." (side 97)
Man bør ikke forvente mye spenning på det ytre planet når man leser "Gater i mørket". Det meste foregår i Guys hode, der han strever med å finne noe som er hans. Bakenfor eller under det hele - om ikke som en slags undertekst, men kanskje mer som en refleksjon det er naturlig å gjøre seg som leser - ligger det større spørsmål av eksistensiell art: For er ikke de fleste av oss "skapninger som (en dag) forsvinner som dugg for solen"? Som ikke kommer til å etterlate oss mange spor, og som derfor kommer til å forsvinne fra jordens overflate og etter hvert bli glemt? Sånn sett er Guys hukommelsestap et slags bilde på hva de fleste av oss har i vente en dag. At vi bare blir borte, som om vi aldri har vært her ... som et ingenting i det store og det hele ... Slik som slutten antyder: "Hun har allerede rundet hjørnet, og våre liv, forsvinner de ikke i tussmørket, like raskt som denne barnesorgen?" (side 197)
"Gater i mørke" er meget godt skrevet, uten at jeg vil påstå at jeg kunne ha gjettet at Patrick Modiano ville ha fått Nobelprisen i litteratur dersom jeg hadde lest nettopp denne boka før pristildelingen. Men kanskje har jeg enda til gode å lese hans aller beste bøker?
For øvrig vil jeg fremheve at boka er lett tilgjengelig. Men selv om den er lettlest, krever den likevel årvåkenhet fra leserens side. Det ligger nemlig mye meningsinnhold i setningene og mellom linjene, og dette kan man fort gå glipp av dersom man rusher i vei.
Jeg gleder meg allerede til å lese de to øvrige nyutgitte bøkene av Patrick Modiano!
Utgitt i Frankrike: 1978
Originaltittel: Rue des boutiques obscures
Utgitt første gang på norsk: 1979
Denne utgaven er utgitt: 2014
Forlag: Cappelen Damm
Oversatt: Mona Lange
ISBN: 978-82-02-47973-2 show less
Guy Roland je muž, který ztratil paměť a snaží se rekonstruovat vlastní minulost. Jako bývalý soukromý detektiv používá postupů policejního pátrání a z dokumentů, fotografií, adres a rozhovorů skládá historii jednoho života. Na své pouti proti toku času se dostává do období německé okupace Francie. Příběhy postav, kterými je románový děj zalidněn, dostávají za těchto podmínek takřka tragické rozměry. A nezřídka také tragédií končí, jako osud samotného Rolanda a jeho přítelkyně. (Založil/a: Mirabelka)
Libro che ha richiesto tutta la mia attenzione e credo tutt'ora che non tutti i tasselli di questa storia siano del tutto chiari per me. Un ex investigatore privato, va alla ricerca delle proprie tracce, del proprio passato e della propria identità. Siamo a Parigi, attraverso sensazioni, chiedendo informazioni, gli vengono regalate foto, dati indirizzi, che lui scrupolosamente verifica da buon investigatore. E come scritto poco fa io in questa marea di nomi e vie francesi dopo un po non ci ho capito più niente e ho avuto la sensazione di perdermi con il protagonista, di non riuscire a districarmi tra queste pagine e di perdermi nelle vie di Parigi..
Guy Roland est employé dans l'agence de détectives du baron balte Constantin Von Hutte qui en est à sa retraite. Guy Roland, c'est le nom que lui a donné Von Hutte car celui-là, amnésique, n'a plus d'histoire. Avant de se rendre au 2, rue des Boutiques Obscures à Rome, Guy Roland a parcouru de multiples pistes de son passé. Il a tenté de reconstruire son existence, de se remodeler une identité, de revoir des lieux et des êtres, de s'imaginer dans la peau de Freddie, de Pedro, ou serait-ce Jimmy? Cette quête de soi n'est pas sans rappeler l'entreprise de Gaspard Winckler dans la reconstruction de puzzles pour Percival Bartlebooth dans La vie, mode d'emploi. Rue des Boutiques Obscures n'est peut-être pas construit aussi systématiquement sur une contrainte oulipienne, mais on y verra défiler, comme dans La Vie, mode d'emploi,une kyrielle de personnages du présent comme de l'autrefois. Modiano avait, comme Perec, l'appui de Queneau et enfin, Rue des Boutiques Obscures a show more été couronné du Goncourt en 1978 devant La Vie, mode d'emploi qui était alors de la sélection. Toutes ces intersections n'ont sûrement pas nui à la joie que j'ai éprouvée à la lecture de cette poursuite de soi.
[http://rivesderives.blogspot.ca/2015/08/rue-des-boutiques-obscures-patrick.html] show less
[http://rivesderives.blogspot.ca/2015/08/rue-des-boutiques-obscures-patrick.html] show less
Språket, strukturen och den speciella stämningen år helt underbar. Den trevande berättelsen som gör att man blir nyfiken på vad som ska hända. Första boken Av Patrick Modiano men absolut inte den sista. En författare som verkligen kan skriva.
Intressant historia som börja bra. Men när berättelsen utvecklas blir det lite rörigt och vagt i kanterna. Mer intressant än bra.
Guy Roland is zijn geheugen verloren. Hij heeft 8 jaar bij een privédetective gewerkt die zijn kantoor sluit en hem zijn documenten achterlaat om te helpen zijn identiteit terug te vinden. Hij komt met veel personen in aanraking die hem kennen of doorsturen naar iemand die iets over hem weet. Aan de hand van foto’s, adresboeken en telefoongidsen ontdekt hij dat hij Pedro heette, een Griek die op het Dominicaanse consulaat werkte en tijdens de oorlog gevlucht is. Hij komt uiteindelijk tot de ontdekking wat er gebeurd is en dat het verleden definitief voorbij is.
Quien es el hombre que ha estado trabajando de detective como socio en una agencia en el centro de París, desde que perdió su identidad en una localidad limítrofe con la frontera de Suiza. Todo estos años atrás esta duda ha estado presidiendo su vida hasta que como consecuencia de la jubilacion de una de las partes de la sociedad, decide emprender las pesquisas con las que tratara de reconstruir su pasado y mediante ejercicio de introspeccion recomponer su desdibujado perfil personal. Con este propósito se sucederán las entrevistas con diferentes personajes que supuestamente en algún momento pretérito de su vida actual tuvieron relación con quien fue. En el transcurso de esos encuentros recibirá diferentes reliquias con las que pieza a pieza completara un puzzle en el cada pieza representa un momento olvidado en el túnel del tiempo, o mas propiamente dicho un recuerdo desordenado que hay que ubicar en una coordenadada correcta en el mapa recuerdo/tiempo.
è il terzo che leggo di Modiano e ora capisco appieno perché ha avuto il Nobel
Un detectiu que ha perdut la memòria, busca la seva identitat
Excelente. Também gostei do posfácio ' A poção mágica de Modiano' por Bernardo Ajzenberg.
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