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Eric Faye

Author of Nagasaki

41 Works 292 Members 20 Reviews

About the Author

Includes the names: Eric Faye, Éric Faye, Éric Faye

Image credit: By Fayeeric1963 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21714639

Works by Eric Faye

Nagasaki (2010) 135 copies
Éclipses japonaises (2016) 18 copies
Parij (1999) 9 copies
Le général solitude (1995) 8 copies
Il faut tenter de vivre (2015) 5 copies
Mes trains de nuit (2005) 4 copies
L'homme sans empreintes (2008) 4 copies

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Reviews

Interesting read.
Based on the true story of a woman who claimed to be channeling Chopin and transcribing new music, the book explores belief systems,relationships, socio-political structure and more in a relatively short bit dramatic story.
 
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cspiwak | 1 other review | Mar 6, 2024 |
La intrusa
Éric Faye
Publicado: 2010 | 59 páginas
Novela Drama Psicológico

De profesión meteorólogo, Shimura lleva una vida solitaria y metódica que transcurre con precisión milimétrica entre el trabajo y su casa, un microcosmos de orden y pulcritud a las afueras de Nagasaki. Sólo el canto ensordecedor de las chicharras es capaz de alterar una rutina tan previsible hasta el día en que Shimura cree percibir pequeños cambios en la impoluta organización de su hogar. No parece obra de un ladrón, pues todos los objetos de valor siguen en su sitio. Shimura instala una cámara en la cocina y, perplejo, descubre la presencia de una mujer desconocida, una intrusa que lleva un año viviendo en un armario de la casa. Obra ganadora del Gran Premio de la Academia Francesa, esta novela de Éric Faye —autor reconocido por plantear con sencillez los grandes temas que afectan al hombre moderno— se basa en un caso real para explorar el influjo que la memoria de los lugares que habitamos ejerce sobre nuestra conciencia.… (more)
 
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libreriarofer | 11 other reviews | Feb 19, 2024 |
Éric Faye's The Ghost of Frederick Chopin is inspired by the life of Rosemary Brown, a 20th Century psychic (or not—there are a number of theories) who purportedly "channeled" new, posthumous compositions from a range of well-known composers. You can read about her story here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_Brown_(spiritualist)

Faye sets his novel in eastern Europe, a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ludvík Slaný, a journalist and documentary filmmaker, is assigned to produce a documentary about Věra Foltýnova, this novel's Rosemary Brown equivalent. Slaný is determined to unmask what he considers Foltýnova's complex and convincing fraud. Still, every time he sets a "trap" for Foltýnova, she manages not to get caught. Slaný hires Pavel Černý, a member of the former state police, to trail Foltýnova, but he, too, finds no evidence of fraud.

The narrative perspectives shifts repeatedly in the novel in sometimes distracting ways. Much of it is in third person, but the frame for the book seems to be that Slaný is telling another journalist the story of his investigation several decades after he conducted it, so there are sudden shifts to first person in these scenes, then the narrative moved back to third person. The first time the narrative changed over to first person, I was genuinely confused—after this happened again, I could see what Faye was doing, but it wasn't immediately clear.

My overall take on this novel is that it's focusing on the wrong character. Slaný is the hub around which everything revolves and, quite frankly, Slaný is a bit self-obsessed and not all that interesting. We only see Foltýnova through his eyes, which leaves all sorts of possibilities unexplored. And more and more parts of the narrative become obscured as Slaný talks around important steps in his investigative process so that readers never really know how he reached his final conclusion.

If you enjoy novels written around interesting premises, you may enjoy The Ghost of Frederic Chopin. If you prefer character-driven fictions, this novel will disappoint. I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via EdelweissPlus; the opinions are my own.
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Sarah-Hope | 1 other review | Jun 29, 2021 |
I received an ARC copy of the e-book version of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A very interesting story set in, as you can guess, Nagasaki. Our protagonist lives alone, by design rather than necessity. Alone, a cog in a much larger machine, a low level and low pay grade meteorologist who creates comfort, without any attempt at meaning or fulfillment in his life, by the strict adherence to routine. He avoids the company of workmates because that would disrupt his daily structure. He doesn’t trust anything or anyone outside himself anyway and minimizes all contact with people in the workplace or outside. It has been over a year since he has seen a member of his own family. At work he immerses himself in weather patterns; at home his nightly rituals.

He is an island.

Until he realizes that he isn’t alone. Someone is in his home. Eating his food. Walking his house. Invading his world. He is no longer alone. He has been violated.

If this story were written by an American author the story would have gone one way. Probably the confrontation of the individualist (we all think of ourselves that way, right? even though it is the punchline from a joke—sure, you are unique, just like everybody else) with the intruder. Gogol or Kafka would have gone another way—the inevitable violation of the individual by a stronger force. But this story is set in Japan and it is very different in ways that I did not expect. Much more personal. Much more moving. With a perspective shift (which often don’t work but this time does very well) near the end that makes us re-evaluate our feelings toward the entire story.
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ChrisMcCaffrey | 11 other reviews | Apr 6, 2021 |

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Works
41
Members
292
Popularity
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Rating
½ 3.5
Reviews
20
ISBNs
79
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7

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