France: Underground Time by Delphine De Vigan
Thoughts: I kept putting off reading it because of some of the reviews on Librarything, but I shouldn’t have: Underground Time is an extraordinarily well-written treatise on the loneliness one feels even when surrounded by people. The language is sparse but beautifully rendered. The city is real and the desperation of the characters is palpable.
Of the two protagonists, Mathilde’s story is stronger than Thibault’s. The stories don’t parallel as closely as I think they were intentioned to and often Thibault comes off as nothing more than clingy and whining to Mathilde’s quiet desperation. But without Thibault, I think the novel would falter. It’s a quick read as it is, but a very worthwhile one.
Spoilers (highlight to read): Many people complain that Mathilde and Thibault have only a second together at the end when their eyes lock on the subway. The whole novel is structured so that you expect Mathilde and Thibault to meet and recognise something of themselves in each other. And they do. For a second. But that is life. We are surrounded by the same despair and we never reach out either. That’s the point the book is trying to make.
Rating: 4/5
Disclosure: I received this book to review through librarything’s early reviewer program.