The Birthday Party
(Histoires de la Nuit)
by Laurent Mauvignier
Translated by Daniel Levin Becker
Laurent Mauvignier’s Histoires de la Nuit, which is being published by Fitzcarraldo Editions (as The Birthday Party) in an English translation by Daniel Levin Becker, is, at a superficial level, a “home invasion” thriller. It is set in the fictional hamlet of “Three Lone Girls Stead” in rural France. The residents of the hamlet are the Bergogne family – farmer Patrice, his wife Marion and their young daughter Ida – and their elderly neighbour Christine, once a celebrated artist, who has now lived there for years as a sort of semi-recluse away from media attention. Christine is close to the Bergognes, especially Patrice and little Ida, who affectionately calls her “Tatie”. Yet there is no love lost between her and Marion, whom she suspects of being cold towards Patrice. This notwithstanding, Christine joins Patrice and Ida in preparing a party for Marion’s fortieth. Indeed, the novel’s narrative develops over just one day – Marion’s birthday. But unknown to the oblivious Bergognes and Christine, a trio of dubious characters from the past are planning to gatecrash the celebration for reasons which will be discovered over the course of the evening.
The Birthday Party ticks the necessary boxes of the thriller genre, except that – counterintuitively - it moves at a glacial pace. In what is certainly a nod to cinematic techniques, Mauvignier’s descriptions zoom into close-up, describing minutely the characters’ actions. Then, doing what a cinematographer would find it difficult to do but a novelist can, he delves into the psyche of the protagonists, often slipping into a sort of stream-of-consciousness approach.
In the initial pages I
loved this approach, which I found incredible immersive and involving. But I must admit that my initial enthusiasm
started to wane, and by the end of the 500+ page novel I was making an effort
to keep going. The novel is an
interesting exploration of the secrets we keep even from our closest family,
and it touches upon many interesting themes.
It should appeal to those who love genre fiction of a literary bent but it
is perhaps better described as an anti-thriller.
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