This may be only the third French book I've read from cover to cover, but I've already noticed some similarities that modern Francophonic authors share. The ease and directness of the story are what makes these novels stand out from the rest of the pack, and accordingly, win the hearts of numerous book lovers. The author doesn't go too deep into the complexities of the characters and their emotions, yet he gives the readers enough to feel what the protogonists feel and to try to guess what their next moves might be. Likewise, the book is easy to read, and structured in a way (many short sub-chapters) that keeps you going and reading further. It's difficult to say, however, if the above-mentioned features are a good thing, especially if you're a fastidious reader and prefer classics.
As to me, this book in no way improved my opinion of modern novels (written in 2000s). In general, the plots are very shallow, repetitive, showing almost no originality, and written solely for the purpose of generating huge sales. Don't get me wrong, we can be proud to say that we share the same time period as Khaled Hosseini, J. K. Rowling, or Ian McEwan, but these are just few exceptions. I must say that I'd been eager to read one of Marc Levy's books for many years (I waited for my French language proficiency to boost), but when I finally made the dream come true, my expections hardely met the reality. Knowing the fuzz that each of his novels has created, I was honestly expecting something better. I should've predicted it taking into account that it's among the pocket books (however, you can find some gems here too).
"Elle & Lui" follows the adventures of a seeking-a-quiet-place, famous British actress and a suddenly-acclaimed American writer. The paths of both English-speaking artists happen to cross... you guessed it - in Paris. Where else if the author is French? She and him, he and her... coming from two different parts of the world, they meet in the most romantic city of them all, and to top it even more, they get acquainted in a blind date, which has to be a surprise to one of them because the best friend set it up. Isn't that at least a little cheesy and stereotypical. Why couldn't they stumble upon each other, say, in India. That's the modern-day revelation place, isn't it? She and him, they both wanted to find a haven where nobody really knows them. But why exactly Paris? Because it's a place where seemingly everyone has spent a summer or two and has a friend over there? I'm really not buying that, and kind of start to get tired of these repetitions. And if it's not weird enough, the main characters also speak to each other in French. 'But why? question I, 'if they could've communicated in their mother toungue'. These are the kind of things that Marc Levy has left unnoticed, apparently taken over by the pressure of writing best-sellers one after another.
Without a doubt, I've read so much more powerful stories than this. They gave me hundreds of thoughts and buffled me or left me completely empty, emotionless. But I guess this was not the aim of this particular book. It could be hardly put alongside the works of other great French authors, even the contemporary ones like Modiano; nevertheless, it's a great holiday read and is definitely worth taking if all you want is just sit and relax and imagine what you would do if you were a world reknown writer or actor. It also gives a good perspective as to what editors have to go through, and the importance of knowing what happens to your works in other countries. As unbelievable as it may sound, it might be true that translators occasionally may use your masterpiece as a platform to tell his/ her story that would otherwise stay unheard. Although I've never come across anything like that in the real life, I don't say it's not possible. At least something in this book was unique and surprising in a positive manner.
Other than that, I am almost certain that I won't read any other of Levy's books because they all got to be of the same style, whereas I need something more profound, something that touches my soul. And the French language, as beautiful as it is, won't help this time. I should mentioned one more positive aspect though. In the novel, Levy mentions Murakami, my all time favourite writer, once or twice, so that speaks good about him and his taste. Moreover, the author highlights the complex relations between North and South Korea, which means that he is concerned with world problems and maybe is trying to find ways to solve them. Because of this, Levy has earned a somewhat soft spot in my heart after all.
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