One of the reasons I love to read as much as I can from an author is the chance of discovering within familiar circumstances - like topics, vocabulary, ideas - new and interesting literary approaches and play of styles. After my first Faïza Guène, Discretion - read in English translation - I continue with other two books by her, in the original French, though. Kiffe Kiffe Demain was unexpectedly humorous although playing hard on topics such as immigration and the life in the suburbs (quartier). Les Gens du Balto, goes one step further, creating a novel played on multiple voices with a crime plot.
One thing about reading a book in translation is that there are a lot of local nuances that one can taste only in the original language. Kiffe Kiffe and Les Gens...too, do have a very colourful vocabulary which me, as a French speaker I love to read in original. It has to do with a pleasure of reading and hearing words that you relate to, and slang is generally a very localised take on language. Thus, for anyone looking to update and upgrade their intimate knowledge of the language, Guène´s books are valuable source of information.
In Les Gens du Balto, a large cast of characters and their parents is investigated by the police in the case of a murder of a bar owner. Several are teenage voices, others are adults or their immigrants parents. With the usual humorous take, she created a murder story with a unique background. Every crime story is special and there are so many specific elements coming together - I am reading right now The Trees by Percival Everett which also has a crime setting but it goes far beyond it - which are pratically relevant for another understory line. The author manages to coordinate all the individual voices skillfully which supports the story development.
Discovering new young writer may be such a refreshing feeling, especially when one realizes they bring such a new take and approach on ideas like identity and belonging. By creating stories around them, the topics descend from the literary, philosophic and theoretic realm, to take a place within the everyday mentalities swift.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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