Mes amis

By Emmanuel Bove

Book Overview

Bove's tale of a World War I veteran living in postwar Paris, searching for friendship and warmth, is an ironic, entertaining masterpiece by one of France's favorite authors.

My Friends is Emmanuel Bove's first and most famous book, and it begins simply, though unusually, enough: "When I wake up, my mouth is open. My teeth are furry: it would be better to brush them in the evening, but I am never brave enough." Victor Baton is speaking, and he is a classic little man, of no talent or distinction or importance and with no illusions that he has any of those things, either; in fact, if he is exceptional, it is that life's most basic transactions seem to confound him more than they do the rest of us. All Victor wants is to be loved, all he wants is a friend, and as he strays through the streets of Paris in search of love or friendship or some fleeting connection, we laugh both at Victor's meekness and at his odd pride, but we feel with him, too. Victor is after all a kind of everyman, the indomitable knight of human fragility. And, in spite of everything, he, or at least his creator, is some kind of genius, investing the back streets and rented rooms of the city and the unsorted moments of daily life with a weird and unforgettable clarity.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1681373130
• ISBN13: 9781681373133
• Release Date: May 2019
• Publisher: New York Review of Books
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

I agree with the review below

Except that I think this deserves to be in the same category as the novels he mentioned as five-stars. Perhaps it was just the setting I was in in my life at the time though. This novel is perfect for someone who is stuck in thought and wonder at existence, but still wants to be entertained.

You are my friend!

This is a very nice book! It is almost a five (but I have reserved five for books like "Crime and punishment", "Third policeman", "Master and margarita", "The overcoat" and so on).The book is about loneliness. It is written with a lot of humor and melancholy.The main character is walking the streets alone searching for friends. It is so desperate that it becomes ironic. You get the feeling he likes to be alone feeling sorry for himself....I don't want to say more than that about the story. I guess that's about what the cover lets you know. I would say it is in Beckett style but I don't know if an expert would agree...If you are a person inclined to feel you are all alone in this world. This book will definately cheer you up....making you feel you are not the only one!