This year so far I had the chance to read fantastic newly published multi-awarded books in French. With no exception, there are extraordinary examples of the strength of French literature and the diversity of topics that do concern the French writers.
Le barman du Ritz by Philippe Collin, whose podcast is a recommendation for anyone interested in recent history commentarries, is my latest read. Built around real characters, particularly Frank Meier, the barkeeper of Ritz hotel during the German occupation, it develops into a story about compromise and opportunism.
Meier, a hidden Jew, was part of some initiatives saving French Jews from Shoah, while cashing generous rewards. Played a neutrality game trying curiously or opportunistically to get into the shoes of some big Nazi representatives hosted in the hotel. Like the leadership of the hotel itself, or some of its illustrious residents, like the notorious Coco Chanel, survived, oblivious or just preferring not to know too much about what was happening in the real Paris. Unable to express his feelings, to get involved in his own son´s life. A lukewarm character.
Meier is the main character of the book, its voice and main storyteller, either through his own account of events, organised chronologically, or through his diary entries. It is a one-sided perspective, therefore I would be a bit careful to name it ´the big novel of the Occupation´, as the world we see is the one seen from the Ritz precincts. However, took from the perspective of the barkeeper from Ritz, it touches upon a diversity of aspects, moral or survival-related - that do explain the behavior under occupation, particularly the German occupation of Paris.
A novel placed in history revealing stories of everyday life anti-heroes.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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