Fragile des bronches | Lisez!

EAN : 9782232145193

Shaping : BROCHE

Pages : 256

Size : 153 x 240 mm

Voir la fiche produit

Pulmonarily challenged

Bertrand Blier

Release date : 27/01/2022

In this semi-autobiographical novel, celebrated French filmmaker Bertrand Blier shows off his talent as a writer. In a sometimes ironically detached, sometimes tender, but always original style, he reinvents his childhood as a son of an actor and a future filmmaker who is “pulmonarily challenged”.

The book:
Jean-Michel Céleste is the son of an actor and an unhappy housewife, Gisèle, driven to a suicide attempt by the frequent infidelities of her husband who is always on the road. Having been saved in extremis, the depressed mother stays bedridden and finds it difficult to lead a normal... The book:
Jean-Michel Céleste is the son of an actor and an unhappy housewife, Gisèle, driven to a suicide attempt by the frequent infidelities of her husband who is always on the road. Having been saved in extremis, the depressed mother stays bedridden and finds it difficult to lead a normal life. Given these bleak circumstances, Jean-Michel is not very enthusiastic about his growing up. Suffering every other day from violent coughing fits, his only joy is listening to his mother playing Chopin on the piano. When the family doctor recommends a vacation in the high altitude of the mountains, mother and son embark on a journey by train from Paris to Le Fayet in the French Alps. Abandoned by his mother who is lodging at the Hotel Arbois Bettex, Jean-Michel has to live in a children’s home where he follows a strict schedule of lessons by correspondence. Fortunately, there is Nicole, a pretty young girl, living in the chalet next door. Other happy moments include the luncheons with his mother at the hotel, especially on the terrace from whence he can spot the Mont-Blanc. One day, a man named Jacques invites them over to his table. Fifty years of age, too tanned, too teethy, the kind of man that is looking for trouble…. Inevitably, Jean-Michel stumbles upon Jacques making love to his mother. He calls his father to the rescue who arrives promptly at the train station and starts trouble shooting like a real cowboy until things are finally going back to what they used to be – for now…
Back in Paris, Jean-Michel gets involved with Nicole, the daughter of a Russian ambassador, and his mother begins a relationship with Jacques, manager of a washing machine parlour, who eventually befriends Jean-Michel’s father who is still on the road and multiplying his female conquests. Between the glitzy receptions at Nicole’s parent’s townhouse and the time spent listening to jazz records with his friend Blumberg, Jean-Michel tries to reconcile his estranged parents. Little does he know that Nicole will end up leaving him, that Jacques will become an important fixture in his life and that the whole adventure will reach its peak in the South, in the Victorine studios of Nice, where he will make the life altering acquaintance of a giant of the French film industry…

Key points:
All three novels by Bertrand Blier already published at Éditions Robert Laffont have been a great success: The Swingers [Les Valseuses] published in 1972 before the launch of the eponymous movie, has sold several hundreds of thousands of copies, Stepfather [Beau-père], published in 1981, has sold over 250,000 copies and Available in white [Existe en blanc], published in 1998 has sold over 40,000 copies.
Usually best known for his derisiveness and his incomparably absurd and provocative sense of humor, Bertrand Blier surprises with this semi-autobiographical novel of a challenging childhood, that shows a completely new, sensitive and tender side.
An enthralling read of a rare visual force that whisks us away to glamorous mountain resorts and glitzy Parisian soirées of the “New Wave” era, introducing us to famous artist retreats like Locarno, Saint-Paul de Vence and other emblematic locations like the tennis courts of Roland Garros and the movie theaters and jazz clubs of the French capital…

Read less