supercheesegirl

F got me this book for my birthday, since the last writer in translation he got me, Angelica Gorodischer, was such a big hit. This book wasn't such a hit for me, unfortunately. Chateaureynaud's work is really beautiful: the stories are short and quick to read, the language is lyrical and lovely, the fantastic events that happen are truly creative. Chateaureynaud makes things happen in his stories that I haven't seen before. The problem, for me, was how sad all the stories are. The author bio at the back of the book refers to "his luckless, well-meaning, Everyman heroes and narrators", which is as good a description as anything. Amazing things happen to these people, but they don't benefit from it. Usually their lives become worse. And the fact that the characters really do mean well makes that sadder for me as a reader, because I want to see them happy and they aren't, and never will be again. I enjoyed the book and would probably read more of Chateaureynaud - that's how unique and lovely his writing is - but I found it difficult to read.