"Doctor, Doctor, can you hear me?"

In L'archéologue, a short novel by Philippe Beaussant an archaologist tells his life story, which spans most of the Twentieth Century and is sprawled across the globe, connecting cultures and continents across the globe in a feverish narrative. From Egypt, to Bali and Cambodia. The story is told with a passion, bordering on delirium, and increasingly incoherent, as cultural references become mixed, bringing Asian culture together with Western cultural references. There is not much of a story, and the narrative seems a succession of namesdropping and achievements.

French literature is often characterized by a chute an unexpected turn, which makes the reader suddenly see the story in an entirely different light. revealing this chute would be a real spoiler. However, it saved the story for me. The chute at the end of L'archéologue is very original and fuses the story with drama. ( )