Personne

* Thanks to the author and LibraryThing for an ARC.*

The key moment, to me, in this rich follow-up to "Traitor Comet" comes on p. 267 when the focal character turns Socrates around, joking to his friend Robert Desnos, "The unlived life is not worth examining." So much of this book eavesdrops on characters picking others' lives apart like theatre critics after a lame show, or discussing the meaning of Life like stoned undergrads, or just avoiding discussing stuff deemed too personal, that we show more may be slow to notice all the choices left unmade in each of their existences, the lives unlived. The first-person narrator, Geoff Weidmann, continues adrift in a doldrums of having lost himself since the Great War and by that very dilemma provides the foil to the gem-like sparklies of the Surrealists; they frequently mistake running about in sound and fury for living a life, but Geoff's seeming inability to do either brings it home. All of this requires some patience of the reader, but the flow of the whole gradually makes itself apparent until we are at a rush of character growth as this book pauses to await Book Three. Antonin Artaud's film career is taking off, Desnos' efforts and work are beginning to stand on their own merit, Surrealism and Communism compete for space as the enormous social changes of the 1930s approach like a storm, and Geoff's role in all of these has been all but laid out for him. I truly look forward to the continuation, and perhaps conclusion, of these tales.

"L'Étoile de mer" suffers from its very nature as a Middle Book, however; not only is everything within contingent upon the first book, "Traitor Comet," but the first third of "L'EdM" is such a direct continuation of the kaffeeklatsches and volatile relationships of the first book that even a short gap in time passed following reading the first leads to some disorientation. The saturation of broken conversations and spilled beverages is nearly too much to wade through at points, but ultimately things set in motion actually do propel the characters into action, and the reader can feel more involved. And still, closure eludes us.

A final note, and a pleasant one. The author has noted the decades spent working to tell this tale but there has been a side-benefit to the time passed, a 'lagniappe' if you would. Had these books been presented 30 years ago, we wouldn't have had the plethora of resources at such easy reach. I have found myself delighting at on-line searches to find photos of those who really lived in 1920s Paris (Kiki of Montparnasse, ftw), and I would not have so easily been able to find and watch the titular film. The added flavor and context allowed me a deeper enjoyment of these novels, and also make me wonder how this would work as a Surrealist, silent film! Merci, l'auteur! show less

-ARC provided by Outskirts Press and LibraryThing.-

A truly singular novel, "Traitor Comet" keeps a close focus on the doings, ramblings, and arguments of a diverse clique of clever characters as they wrestle with Life, the Universe, and Everything in the Paris of the late-1920s, presenting the whole in a language both elegant and familiar. No doubt, the writing here is the star; the tone matches the artistic bent of the cast and the streets of Paris itself: "Notre Dame, with its ivory stone, show more glowed from the spotlights trained on it. The cathedral dragged its reflection in the river like a tattered veil." (p.55) Nice.

Some of the characters are historical figures, Robert Desnos and Antonin Artaud in particular, while others fictional as the author's stated intent is to animate the lives of the artists. The verisimilitude is strong enough to sweep the reader along comfortably, and the p-o-v main character is a perfect foil for the more pretentious excesses of the poets, actors, and painters. Geoffrey, our main character, presents us with both the central question and the Gorilla-in-the-Room. Avoiding spoilers, he's in the midst of an existential crisis, having lost himself along the way, and the hurly-burly is both his cure and his nemesis. His search for answers is the greater human quest, I guess, asking 'what is identity?' and 'who am I?' The mechanism chosen by the author to drop Geoffrey into this search is either a ripping metaphor or an intrusive bit of SFF more at home in urban fantasy; it's up to the reader to decide, it seems.

"No one insists a corpse is still alive or a bird is still an egg but somehow a man is always what he used to be, and if he takes charge of his future people say he's not himself, that they don't know him anymore." (p.361)

To me, the biggest drawback of 'TC' is that it does meander and does not meet the sea, it ends at a caesura and sets up a sequel instead. I look forward to reading the sequel but did want more satisfaction from this volume. show less

I truly enjoyed reading Traitor Comet. It centers around yet another World War I vet who cannot find his place in society and questions everything his family values. He randomly meets Surrealists, and through his interactions we learn about the movement in Paris. That said, I must mention that I knew next to nothing about Surrealism--I remember seeing a couple paintings by Dali--so I cannot comment on how well the author portrayed Antonin Artaud, Robert Desnos and the others. I can tell you show more the novel kept me interested, and I will be learning more about the movement. show less

Traitor Comet is a novel about a man who cannot see inside himself anymore. Since Geoffrey Wilhelm Weidmann is his only true witness, he cannot understand himself and needs to seek out those who can help him gain insight. In his past, Geoff had been a roughneck, a student of the violin, a World War I combat veteran - a self-made man in an era of post war liberation.

Geoff had a bad dream on his last night in an old farm house in the Austrian countryside, formerly owned by his father. He had show more isolated himself and his wife in an attempt to gain some peace of mind and find something of value. Geoff’s father had moved to Paris with Goeff’s brother Franz and family. Until now, Geoff had rejected city life and his family seeking self-understanding in a subsistence life.

The dream was an excruciatingly frightening experience about the discovery of a dead man in his bed. Geoff believed that he may have killed this individual who now was rotting in his bed. He, escaped the farm and traveled to Paris to live in Franz’s home.

Walking the streets of Paris and visiting cafes, Geoff met many free-thinking artistic personalities Including the leader of the surrealist art movement Andre Breton, a surrealist poet, Robert Desnos , and a stage actor with surrealist playwright intentions Antonin Artaud, poet, dramatist, and play director.

Geoff is stiff and anxious when he arrives in Paris but soon is accepted by the unusual characters in and around surrealist circles. Geoff is liked immediately even though he doesn't like himself at this point. The surrealists recognize something in the sensitive, confused man.

As Geoff becomes freer with his own thoughts and writes poetry relying less on language that is governed by literary rules and more on free expression of words that evoke unconscious experiences, he is more accepted and influenced by the two surrealist freethinkers Bresnos and Artaud who have gone beyond Breton’s restrictions presented in his famous surrealist manifesto.

At this point in the novel, Personne began to evoke many experiences in me that were beyond surreal by describing the adventures, social interactions, and artistic presentations of the bohemian characters.

Traitor Comet is a very good novel, and I look forward to reading, The Starfish, book 2 of a continuing series. show less