i really enjoyed the heck out of this. ( )

A journey through social layers of society. Switching between referenced music tracks took a reading of this book to a whole new dimension. ( )

Der soziale Abstieg Vernon Subutex' vom Szene-Plattenhändler zum Obdachlosen ist die erzählerische Klammer, innerhalb der die Autorin Virginie Despentes eine Vielzahl beeindruckender Porträts aus der Welt der Stars & Sternchen des Medienbusiness, von prekarisierten Freiberuflern, Strichern & Gestrandeten, Migranten & identitären Würstchen zeichnet. Das ist hinreißend gut geschrieben, komponiert & übersetzt; eigentlich das Drehbuch zu einer TV-Serie, auf die ich mich jetzt schon freue, ebenso wie auf die Fortsetzung, die im nächsten Frühjahr erscheinen wird.- ( )

Actually didn't finish it- was an inter library loan for me and had to cough it up. I enjoyed this, but I also found it a bit tedious. Poor guy who was a wiz with records, but when records goes out he becomes unemployable and drifts. So, yes... one can identify with that mileau.. but it just sort of goes on from there.... not compelling. ( )

I think the clue is in the surname Subutex. There is certainly a lot going on in the subtext of this novel. I have just resurfaced after spending a week in the world of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll and the homeless (SDF) of Paris. I am familiar with the the world of rock 'n' roll and can pick up most of the references to groups and singers in the 1970's-80's sub culture. I used to be more familiar with the world of sex, but this all seems far away from my quiet existence in rural France. Drugs are a world I have never been in tune with and so reading this novel has taken me further out of my comfort zone than I usually venture, especially as I do not read that much contemporary literature. I have also had to frequently google as the author uses acronyms and verlan. It has been a bit of a roller coaster with some lows, but mostly highs.

Virginie Despentes is a French writer, novelist, and filmmaker. She is known for her work exploring gender, sexuality and people who live in poverty or other marginalised conditions. In her writing her characters deal with misery and injustice, self violence or violence towards others such as rape or terrorism. The world she depicts is laced with realism, her political stance is uncertain, she is more concerned in providing a social critique. From wiki there is a quote from Despentes talking about her life and work.

"I became a prostitute and walked the streets in low-cut tops and high-heeled shoes owing no one an explanation, and I kept and spent every penny I earned. I hitchhiked, I was raped, I hitchhiked again. I wrote a first novel and published it under my own, clearly female first name, not imagining for a second that when it came out I’d be continually lectured to about all the boundaries that should never be crossed. . . . I wanted to live like a man, so I lived like a man."

In her novel Vernon Subutex has just retired from making a living selling records from his shop, where various people hung out to chat, and probably sell drugs. Vernon was well liked and he had a connection with a rockstar (Alex Bleach) to whom he provided some services. Bleach has been recently found dead after an illness and Vernon has been left three cassettes by Bleach, unfortunately this has come at a time when Vernon has been evicted from his apartment and in his haste to get out from under the bailiffs most of his personal belongings have been left behind. Vernon is homeless and after a couple of nights on the streets he makes contacts with people in his address book, but short stays with them do not work out and Vernon is back on the streets again. There are people interested in the death of Alex Bleach searching for Vernon, thinking that he has information which can be used.

As this is Tome 1 of a three tome series; Despentes spends much of the time introducing the characters. They all have interesting back stories mostly concerned with living on the edges of society and have known Vernon while he was working. There are porn stars still aware of being recognised on the streets, a friend who has been left by his partner because of too many violent assaults, girlfriends who have tried to turn around their life after the drugs and prostitution of their earlier existence, a trans person who is intent on changing to become male, a film maker whose family is falling apart. All these peoples lives have touched on Vernon, but Vernon now finds all his energies and resources are needed just to stay alive in the hostile environment of the streets of Paris. The death of Alex Bleach is a connecting tissue that hovers in the background and it is only towards the very end of this novel that the story starts to move along.

Despentes is adapt at letting her characters tell their stories, mostly in the third person, but the author changes her writing style to reflect their world.
This is edgy writing, with the author taking the reader in a 'no holds barred' explanation of the lives of her characters. Not so much their own struggles with their sexuality, but the struggles they have with a society that does not approve of their chosen/forced life styles, but is willing to pay with money or violence for their services. Towards the end of the novel Vernon has become one of the faceless people who live on the streets. One of his former acquaintances hurrying to catch the metro sees a cat sprawled out on the lap of a young homeless person and he remarks:

"C'est plus facile de droguer son chat que d'apprendre à jouer de la guitar."

The novel was published in 2015 and has won several prizes. There is an English translation and it was shortlisted for the Man Booker International prize 2018. I borrowed this from my library and noticed that tomes 2 and 3 are still on the shelves. Once I have started something I usually finish and so I can see my reading schedule being interrupted for a time. This was a 4 star read. ( )