The Investigation by Philippe Claudel
And you think you had it bad. Our hero gets off a train at the right station, but doesn't get collected by those he's working on behalf of, can't have his order at the bar fulfilled, cannot get to the place of work on time, then cannot find the hotel almost opposite without a major trek through a snowy, unsavoury but completely empty city. And when he gets to the hotel - well that and the other people he meets there are a whole new category of odd. Is this how things are supposed to be - is this limbo, a nightmare or just a novel our hero is trapped in?
| The Investigation by Philippe Claudel | |
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| Category: Literary Fiction | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: A bizarre change of direction from this most versatile, approachable and inventive author. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 224 | Date: January 2013 |
| Publisher: MacLehose Press | |
| ISBN: 9780857051547 | |
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The good thing is that this is not just a novel. Coming from the pen of one of the most clever authors writing today, it once again shows his adaptability. After producing what he called a trilogy and everyone else thought a versatile set of three very different books, he produces what could easily be called the fourth in that trilogy. It touches again on the alienation of the man in the wrong place, in a time he is estranged from, and with an official mind and mindset to get to the bottom of things yet one that is ultimately powerless.
The problem I had with this book is that it is very difficult to summarise. The plot is one that I have to touch on lightly. Similarly I cannot easily jump on anything it is akin to in my description. I think it is safe enough to call it The Matrix as rewritten by Kafka and Spike Milligan. I think it's fairly clear (and in the blurb, too) that it's a fable, and I'm not giving too much away to say that some of the moral of the piece is perfect to be read, as I did, on New Year's Day.
I certainly laughed at the black humour throughout most of these pages. It's a short book, so could have outstayed its welcome in taking our hero through the hells of Claudel's imagination, but doesn't, and while you can second guess some of the minor elements of the tormenting plot the full answers take you more than the reading time to discover, if at all.
The style is great - a clear, crisp narration takes us from reality to surreality to dreamscapes and back again, always allowing us to know what the Investigator is going through and thinking. And it's not just him - several people bizarrely open up to him, or have breakdowns in front of (or because of?) him, and all the cast are snappily portrayed. So while I define this as literary fiction on the whole, this is perfectly readable - the fact people remain nameless, the resolution is not overtly in front of us, and other aspects bring modernism to mind, is neither here nor there. This is simply just a good book. It's not a great, perfect success - I think the ending is perhaps too removed from what had gone before - but it is still as brilliantly readable as his previous three, and provides an entertaining look at the nightmare of an alienated worker. His confused soul is one well worth meeting.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
Escape from the city into a very different kind of parable world can be found in the equally quirky-in-the-right-way delight of Doppler by Erlend Loe. You might also enjoy The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Investigation by Philippe Claudel at Amazon.com.
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