Official Review: L’Amérique by Thierry Sagnier
Posted: 08 Nov 2018, 04:15
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "L’Amérique" by Thierry Sagnier.]
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Meet Jeanot in L’Amerique. He is a ten-year-old Parisian boy who immigrates to the United States in the late 1950s. While author Thierry Sagnier identifies his work as fiction, I have a strong feeling that it is largely based on his own childhood. Thierry is French-born and moved to America as a young boy.
The story starts with Jeanot in post-WWII Paris. We encounter the wacky people in his Paris life: his Papa and Maman, his Oncle Yves, his great-aunt Tatie, their building concierge and several maids, their American-family tenant, his best friend Babette, and his rival for Babette’s affections, Dede. Many of Jeanot’s experiences are hilarious. Part of the tenant’s rent is paid via delightful PX goods. His quirky Oncle Yves has amorous designs on his Papa. The concierge Kharkov, a Russian émigré, regales Jeanot with his expert knowledge of American trivia, some of which are ridiculous exaggerations. We also see Jeanot face some boyhood difficulties, including punishment (usually he has “all four cheeks afire”) for his mischiefs and puppy-love heartaches. Then, for reasons not clear to Jeanot, his parents decide to move to America.
What happens next is a little boy’s awakening to a new culture. His fantasy world of cowboys and Indians, his Maman’s vision that everything good happens in America, and Kharkov’s dream destination: are these what Les Etats Unis will prove to be?
We are effortlessly transported to 1950s France and America, with the author naming famous symbols of those times. Acclaimed filmmaker Jean Cocteau (of the first Beauty and the Beast film), Coco Chanel, kid magazines Tintin and Spirou, Le General Charles de Gaulle, Procter & Gamble’s Tide and Prell, Tyrone Power (who played Zorro), and the musical Oklahoma! are some. We see that era through the eyes of a young boy, with his refreshing naivete and curiosity.
The book was a pleasure to read; the author’s wit had me chuckling a lot. I don’t know if parents will allow their young kids to enjoy the story, though, as there are references to adultery, inaccurate childish lessons about “the birds and the bees,” and some swearing, mostly in French (pun intended).
I learned from the author’s website that the story was rewritten more than a hundred times, and the editor wielded the “chainsaw” with “much glee.” Big chunks of original material were chopped. That is perhaps the reason why there are a few plot holes. For instance, chapter one happens in 1955 while the party in chapter two transpires on April Fools’ Day of 1952 without mention of a flashback. Chapter two also states that Jeanot’s family moved residence, but this is not evident from the rest of the story.
The heavy editing also didn’t sweep all the errors as I still found quite a few misspellings and punctuation issues. The author likewise included a generous helping of French words and sentences. While many of these were understandable from the context, I had to look up several to make sure I was reading the lines correctly. These minor irritants did not detract from the reading enjoyment, but they cost the book one star.
I recommend this book to all who want to experience 1950s France and America and how it was after WWII in the eyes of a child. The innocent recounting of the war does not dull the message that war is horrible. Jeanot talks about Jews with tattoos, another character recalls French collaborators executing women and children at Vel d’Hiv, and Jeanot’s Papa still gets bouts of malaria which he caught during the war.
The book is also for those who carry the American dream in their hearts. They will read about Jeanot’s experiences as a “furner.” May they not be displeased to know that like most places on this planet, America is not heaven (even before Trump).
L’ Amerique gets 3 out of 4 stars from me. I hope I do not disappoint Thierry who says of the book: “Frankly, I think we have a winner.” But I would say that it came very close.
******
L’Amérique
View: on Bookshelves
Like Miriam Molina's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Meet Jeanot in L’Amerique. He is a ten-year-old Parisian boy who immigrates to the United States in the late 1950s. While author Thierry Sagnier identifies his work as fiction, I have a strong feeling that it is largely based on his own childhood. Thierry is French-born and moved to America as a young boy.
The story starts with Jeanot in post-WWII Paris. We encounter the wacky people in his Paris life: his Papa and Maman, his Oncle Yves, his great-aunt Tatie, their building concierge and several maids, their American-family tenant, his best friend Babette, and his rival for Babette’s affections, Dede. Many of Jeanot’s experiences are hilarious. Part of the tenant’s rent is paid via delightful PX goods. His quirky Oncle Yves has amorous designs on his Papa. The concierge Kharkov, a Russian émigré, regales Jeanot with his expert knowledge of American trivia, some of which are ridiculous exaggerations. We also see Jeanot face some boyhood difficulties, including punishment (usually he has “all four cheeks afire”) for his mischiefs and puppy-love heartaches. Then, for reasons not clear to Jeanot, his parents decide to move to America.
What happens next is a little boy’s awakening to a new culture. His fantasy world of cowboys and Indians, his Maman’s vision that everything good happens in America, and Kharkov’s dream destination: are these what Les Etats Unis will prove to be?
We are effortlessly transported to 1950s France and America, with the author naming famous symbols of those times. Acclaimed filmmaker Jean Cocteau (of the first Beauty and the Beast film), Coco Chanel, kid magazines Tintin and Spirou, Le General Charles de Gaulle, Procter & Gamble’s Tide and Prell, Tyrone Power (who played Zorro), and the musical Oklahoma! are some. We see that era through the eyes of a young boy, with his refreshing naivete and curiosity.
The book was a pleasure to read; the author’s wit had me chuckling a lot. I don’t know if parents will allow their young kids to enjoy the story, though, as there are references to adultery, inaccurate childish lessons about “the birds and the bees,” and some swearing, mostly in French (pun intended).
I learned from the author’s website that the story was rewritten more than a hundred times, and the editor wielded the “chainsaw” with “much glee.” Big chunks of original material were chopped. That is perhaps the reason why there are a few plot holes. For instance, chapter one happens in 1955 while the party in chapter two transpires on April Fools’ Day of 1952 without mention of a flashback. Chapter two also states that Jeanot’s family moved residence, but this is not evident from the rest of the story.
The heavy editing also didn’t sweep all the errors as I still found quite a few misspellings and punctuation issues. The author likewise included a generous helping of French words and sentences. While many of these were understandable from the context, I had to look up several to make sure I was reading the lines correctly. These minor irritants did not detract from the reading enjoyment, but they cost the book one star.
I recommend this book to all who want to experience 1950s France and America and how it was after WWII in the eyes of a child. The innocent recounting of the war does not dull the message that war is horrible. Jeanot talks about Jews with tattoos, another character recalls French collaborators executing women and children at Vel d’Hiv, and Jeanot’s Papa still gets bouts of malaria which he caught during the war.
The book is also for those who carry the American dream in their hearts. They will read about Jeanot’s experiences as a “furner.” May they not be displeased to know that like most places on this planet, America is not heaven (even before Trump).
L’ Amerique gets 3 out of 4 stars from me. I hope I do not disappoint Thierry who says of the book: “Frankly, I think we have a winner.” But I would say that it came very close.
******
L’Amérique
View: on Bookshelves
Like Miriam Molina's review? Post a comment saying so!
