De Gele Ogen Van De Krokodillen (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I just finished this novel and I am fascinated. It was so profound, hilarious, and unexpected. I enjoyed her writing style. I hope the English translation do justice to the distinction of the narrative which captured beautifully the ordinary yet interesting life of each of these characters.This is the story of Josephine and her family during a span of a year where her marriage comes to an end and her life changes forever. We encounter all her family members, each and everyone of them in a detailed manner. I have never read anything so crude yet with craft. In that sens, it reminded me a little of Junot Diaz’s style. This is a novel about people’ lives where the emphasis is rather on their individual story: their human interactions, fears, frustrations, injustices, dreams, risks, mistakes committed. In summary, they provide us their individual angle of what Life is and whether we like them or not, we identified with each one of them. This author is talented. The humor here is astounding and comes in a paradox. It’s just thrown unexpectedly even in sad situations. You found yourself laughing yet you know you are not suppose to. It’s just clever. The title of the novel is the perfect example. I am not going to tell you what it means or how it is related but it’s worth the reading.We witness the “devoilement” of each character and we follow along like a movie. Some will make it, some won’t; but whatever happens we understand that the main cause is due to the choices they have made in life. Life becomes this specter, this enigma everyone tries to understand, to define; yet we witness how some characters erroneously view life. Life becomes like a prism shedding different lights among the different circumstances of these characters. This is what gives this novel its universality. All of us, at the end of the day, we are always trying to define Life. We roam life with many unanswered questions. Some instances we may think we have a grip on life but she always surpasses us.There are many themes enriching this saga:. Writing (my favorite theme) “…quand on ecrit, il faut ouvrir toutes grandes les portes a la vie afain qu’elle s’engouffre dans les mots et alimente l’imaginaire.” (p.401) The main character Josephine is writing a novel and we are immersed with many tips on how to attempt to write a novel. She succeeds but cannot claim it. Josephine has low self-esteem issues and like her brother in-law, Phillipe, says : “Tu es ta plus terrible ennemie, Jo.” (p.452)Writing will be the key of emancipation of Josephine which will transform her into a more assertive person. It will also provide the means to finally help her family financially.I love when novels deals with the struggle of writing because you can use them yourself. This writing theme is what I refer to “a story within a story”.. Life Is the prominent theme in the novel and each character has their own perception. Josephine has the most humble approach to life, full of hope. She is wise.“Pour bien vivre, il faut se lancer dans la vie, se perdre et se retouver et se perdre encore, abandonner et recommencer mais ne jamais, jamais penser qu’un jour on pourra se reposer parce que ca ne s’arrete jamais… La tranquilite, c’est plus tard que nous l’aurons.” (p.423). Le Bonheur - Happiness Tout le monde est a la recherche du bonheur. We witness what risks they are willing to take to find happiness, but also how they have awaken and realized their mistake on their original definition of what they thought happiness was. Some will be able to find a way out and some will remain prisoner of their beliefs unwilling to face the truth. It is something to follow along the trilogy.“J’ai compris que le bonheur, ce n’est pas de vivre une petite vie sans embrouilles, sans faire d’erreurs, ni bouger. Le bonheur, c’est d’accepter la lutte, l’effort, le doute, et d’avancer, d’avancer en franchissant chaque obstacle.” (p.422). Love Love is very important for Josephine and despite her marriage failing, she will not give up to find it once more. She experiences it in the storyline of her novel which will be a central theme. . Les Femmes/ les hommes Men and women are one of the prominent dialogue among the characters. We found all the diversity of mindset here. I have enjoyed this novel very much and I cannot wait to read the second book in the trilogy. I am surprised by the amount of characters here, The complexity of their personalities, How the author exposed their thinking and mannerisms with humor, each with their own problems yet everything becomes a big narrative of the many facets of what life can be. Series order:1. “Les Yeux Jaunes des Crocodiles” (2006)2. “La Valse Lente des Tortues” (2008)3. “Les Ecureuils de Central Park sont Tristes le Lundi” (2010) Je vous rappelle, j'ai vu le film en avril dernier. Je dois dire que le livre et beaucoup plus détaillé que le film! Nous avons donc l'histoire de ces deux soeurs qui ne se ressemblent pas du tout, mais qui font (enfin essayent) de faire avec, Iris la "beauté" et la "meilleure" réussite de la famille et Joséphine, la maladroite, pas trop douée pour rien sauf pour le moyen age du 12éme siècle, son élément de recherche au CNRS. Un jour, Iris raconte qu'elle écrit un livre justement sur cette période... De plus la vie familliale de Jo est au plus pas...J'ai vraiment adoré le bouquin, on retouve des scénes du film incroyables, on a plus de détails sur tout et l'écriture de l'auteure est tellement fluide qu'on lis assez vite ce "pavé". Et on a vraiment hâte de savoir la suite!!L'histoire est tellement réaliste, on se demande ce que nous nous ferrions, dans la situation de tel ou tel personnages, parce qu'il y en a pas mal des personnages mais ni pas assez, ni trop, juste ce qu'il faut pour qu'on les retiennent tous. Après, c'est pas non plus de la "grande" littérature mais c'est vraiment bien et je veux vraiment lire le t.2 rapidement!
What do You think about De Gele Ogen Van De Krokodillen (2011)?
Pure summer reading fun… but it’s translated from French so that makes it cool, right?
—Pat
I really liked this book--a light and fun summer read. Perfect!
—Adampop
Good book for francophiles. Fun and often funny read.
—Maii
