The Pigeon

An exquisite miniature. A day of existential torment, even terror. Death, or pre-death, or post-death — it’s all one. And all of it set in motion by the pigeon. One pigeon that Jonathan Noel, a bank security guard in Paris, cannot accommodate or banish from his circumscribed existence. One pigeon that serves as catalyst to the most horrific day of Jonathan’s life. Perhaps.

“Perhaps,” because it is clear from the paragraph-long summary of his life to date that Jonathan Noel has suffered so many horrific days including the disappearance and presumed death of his mother, and then his father. A miserable childhood followed by a miserable youth and early manhood, a miserable national service that leaves him wounded, and now a show more miserable life, day by day, year by year, in a mindlessly miserable little job. All of which Jonathan has accepted sanguinely. Until today.

Süskind has woven an absolute masterpiece here. Truly remarkable and highly recommended. show less

On the face of it this is a short novella ( 77 pages ) about a difficult day in the life of 53 year old security guard which starts with an encounter with a pigeon but wait - Noooooooo - it is so so much more than that. This is about being a prisoner of life, it is about fear of living and what someone will do to protect themselves from pain sometimes all their lives. It is about lonely, invisible people with a story to tell. Jonathan went from a happy go lucky day as a child during the war to WHAM - no mother - wham no father - it is the war and they were taken by persons unknown ( the Nazis ? ) - Patrick Suskind intimates the reasons for these wartime disappearances. The boy is rescued by his uncle but his life limps along from bad to show more worse filled with abandonment, disappointment and confusion - until he takes the decision to go his own way. For over 30 years he lives a frugal, controlled, aloof existence - and then a pigeon appears and his controlled life begins to unravel.

When you live a small life the slightest variance is a very big thing - we see Jonathan mentally spiral out of control. Panic and anxiety attacks, unresolved childhood trauma it all comes flooding back and Jonathon has to now face up to his demons - will he survive?

What a great piece of writing - in a novella every word counts and Suskind has handled the subject gently, accurately and with realism.

It is not just a bad day - it's an epiphany.

It is also set in Paris which I loved as I have a thing about Paris at the moment. show less

After failing at marriage and most other facets of life Jonathan Noel has isolated himself from other people. He has slipped into a fixed routine of of work and socio-cultural impoverishment outside of work. A disruptive event though leads him on an abrupt transformative journey. Jonathan is to some degree every person, someone like John Lennon's Nowhere Man, who is a "bit like you and me". There is a surreal Kafkaesque atmosphere throughout this short novel that reflects the way Jonathan perceives the external world. Yet unlike Kafka stories, there is a shaft of light or two manages to beam through in the end.

This made me laugh, cry, and want to rip my hair out!

I loved Süskind's imagery (as in [b:Perfume: The Story of a Murderer|343|Perfume The Story of a Murderer|Patrick Süskind|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328815062s/343.jpg|2977727]) and I loved how I could feel Jonathan's chest-constricting fear and his heavy self-loathing.

I know some people won't, but I can relate to the character. I can tend to be obsessive about things and also about how people perceive me, however, just as in this novella, it really doesn't matter what people think of you and most likely, people won't even notice you.

I enjoyed this short story and look forward to reading more of Süskind.

Somewhat scatological, and not as psychologically plausible as some reviews imply, but still a delicious, fascinating vignette of the human imperative to survive - illuminated by the arrival of a pigeon. 77 pages of refined delight.

The Pigeon goes through the psychological aspect of an old man's journey which starts when he, being used to his daily routine for 20~ years, is shocked by the presence of a pigeon outside his apartment. This tiny "event" changes his life. It is a truly deep, rich read, yet it is very simple to go through. It's actually easier to read than most contemporary, considered easy, novels. Suskind is an incredibly talented writer that can make you understand the most complex human emotions just by using a few simple words. I hate descriptive, wordy novels; yet I very much enjoyed Suskind's descriptions of normal, everyday things/emotions in this little novella; it is SO good that it actually distracts you from reading for a bit. I very much show more recommend it for those who like the works of Albert Camus and Kafka, and mildly interested in psychology/philosophy.


For those who aren't familiar with Suskind, you might have seen the film 'Perfume', if you haven't: don't. Read the book. show less

At only 77 pages, this is a short novella comparable in its unsettling effect to the best existentialist novellas by Camus and Kafka. The main character lives a very boring but dependable and respectable life on his own in Paris, where he has worked for 30 years in the same job as a bank security guard. He seems fairly stable and relatively content despite his previous traumatic life, until he is perturbed by the presence of the pidgeon.
While there are moments when this book is peculiarly comic, its best strength is the realistic insight it gives onto the state of anxiety that can be induced by the most trivial thing in individuals with certain psychological states or phobias - how everything can suddenly spiral out of control in the show more mind. The end was very good, and this comes highly recommended to those who enjoy psychological literature, existentialist works, or to the general reader. show less