Customer Reviews

The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection: A Novel

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an odd little story, at least in the pre-publication proof, and I don't expect it will get any less odd in the final editing (there are a few small errors that need fixing). But "oddity" is the price we pay for entering into another literary world. It is very French in ethos and atmosphere, and I mean in a way beyond being set in Paris. (OK, for the anti-French Neanderthals among us, I'll point out the part where our rather lost hero, Virgil, describes the remembered highlights of a weekend visit to the house of some friends: "He enjoyed some great Burgundies, ate the best cheeses (camembert with calvados, livarot, and some pont-l'évêque.")

At one point the book seems to be essentially an Impressionist portrait of an uncertain, hazy figure against a background evocation of a - mostly! - beloved city. Also, in French (or 19th century English) style, we can feel that some of the emotions ascribed to Virgil (about the city, for example) are really those of the author: and the author is not shy of speaking directly to us in a philosophical aside.

The whole thing is not designed to be as "absorbing" as a more typical novel: it is a light framework created to carry many intriguing moments and light witticisms. But it is credible - after all, how disoriented would you be if there was a serious message on your answering machine from a woman addressing you by name and saying she was breaking up with you...and you had no idea who this was?

Unlike The Ginger Man, I found much quiet humor in Virgil's changing reactions to his situation and in the events of the story. There's a neat little "what else can go wrong" moment when his friend Faustine delivers to him a box of clothes that he had left at a previous girlfriend's apartment months ago. He was certainly glad to have them back...except that when he opened the box, they were not his clothes...oops...they belonged to a man twice his size and whose taste was twice as bad. Hmm - was he so completely forgettable?

There are several French references that may be obscure to readers, Nechayev, POUM, historical figures like Thiers and Louise Michel (his assassin). Doesn't matter much, and there's always Google. I enjoyed the trip far from my New England environment.

... the narrator, somewhat autobiographically, seemed too self-preoccupied to be interesting and the events that unfolded regarding his non-girlfriend seemed much ado about nothing. if one can like the narrator at least some strong emotion might be evoked towards him. Yes he's described as a dilettante student yet he doesn't stick to his studies nor to gaining insights about what happens "to" him. I longed for some redemption, some breakthrough - or some thoughtful writing that made me care about his being stuck. But I bet i am in the cranky minority here s his books have been translated into a dozen languages. Maybe I lean toward to bold or even goofy characters with some peculiarities that make you wonder how things will turn out.

Overview:
The second translated work by this author, this was not as much fun to read as the first. I was, quite honestly, a bit disappointed by this.

Plot:
The protagonist, Victor, returns from work to discover a message on his answering machine informing him that his girlfriend is breaking up with him. Naturally, this causes him some consternation, not the least reason of which is that he can't remember her. At all. Apparently, the entirety of their relationship has slipped his mind.

The remainder of the book is comprised of Victor's attempts to 1) remember his girlfriend and 2) find her.

The plot is, unsurprisingly, poorly developed. This is unsurprising, since Martin Page typically writes character-centered pieces, rather than spy novels. But, in this case, it is astonishingly bad. There ought to be SOME plot here, but there isn't, really. It is unfortunate, because if Martin Page were to pcik up these skills somewhat, his books could be classics.

Characters:
The main character, and the only one of any real import is Victor. Victor is a self-absorbed young man, who is trying to understand why a relationship, which may or may not have even really happened, has failed.

Setting:
The story is set in modern day France, but could be set anywhere. The setting is not really relevant.

Theme:
The theme of the story is the foreignness of self, at least on occasion. Victor's sudden dissociation with his own life is a critical element of the story, as he finds himself questioning all of his own reality.

Point of View:
The point of view is uniquely from Victor's, which is not surprising, considering that we are intended to feel his same sense of fragmentation and confusion about his life.

Aesthetics:
The aesthetics are good, as they always are when Martin Page is involved. This is true despite the medium of translation. Speaking of which...

Translation:
Since I cannot read French, it is a little difficult to evaluate the translation in many aspects. But, the one aspect that it is possible to evaluate it in is whether the translation seems stilted, unreadable, or otherwise appears to bring up a barrier hindering the understanding of the story.

Conclusion:
While I was a big fan of "How I Became Stupid", I was a bit disappointed by this book. The piquant nihilism of the former is replaced here with a pale and vapid meaninglessness. Hopefully his next translated work will be a bit better.

Grade: C+

Harkius

This story features a man named Virgil who comes home to find a woman he can't remember breaking up with him on his answering machine.

Great premise.

Unfortunately, the rest of The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection is a disappointment. Virgil is your classic egocentric, neurotic, delusional sort of character who believes himself to be far smarter than he actually is. The only problem is that he has not one likable quality. And when the story literally goes nowhere, even Virgil himself can't keep the reader interested because there is nothing interesting about him. His myriad negative characteristics offer not even a smidgen of charm, and frankly, by the end of the novella I was quite sick of him.

I read the translated version of this book done by Bruce Benderson. Now, I don't know if something was lost in translation, but I really found little positive to say about The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection.

It came so close to demanding a psychological analysis of Virgil, but, in the end, he simply came across as a tired egomaniac who couldn't think past his own needs and wants. I'm afraid the story offered absolutely no reward for having finished it.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

This was an odd little novel, strangely vague and yet concise at the same time.

The premise revolves around the breakup of relationship that may or may not have actually happened. Virgil is dumped by Clara via a phone message. The result is a possible mental snap and several trips to a therapist as well as immediately taking advantage of friends who console and coddle the supposedly brokenhearted Virgil. This takes place over the span of ten days in which Virgil mostly tries to remember Clara to the point where the reader will suspect her actual existence. I honestly suspected her to be a prank pulled on him by his shrink. Not particularly professional but the characters themselves seem to thrive on practicing one form or another of sado/masochistic experimentation on others.

The only real point/conclusion I came away with from this little novelette is that society, perhaps only in France, has become over intellectualized to the point that awareness of others has faded from reality. There is no longer any feeling or sense of attachment to humanity unless it is over-developed via imagination. Thus making personal existence a detached and very unhappy one.

Make of it what you will, at 182 pages it is a very quick read.

Virgil came home one day to find a strange message on his answering machine. Clara is breaking up with him. The problem is he doesn't know this Clara and has no memory of their relationship. He goes to his shrink and she orders medical tests for him since he thinks he is going crazy. The test prove nothing is wrong, but he is so set in the notion that he is dying that he gives notice at his apartment that he's dying, calls the phone and electric company and tells them to turn everything off because he is dying.

In the meantime he tries to find out who this Clara is. His friends are all calling and consoling him, taking him out for meals and showering him with attention. So much attention in fact that he decides not to tell anyone that he doesn't know this Clara. He is so caught up in this farce that soon he starts missing Clara (yes, the woman he doesn't even know).

The humor is deadpan and you might miss something if don't pay attention. Virgil is funny and you can't help but hope that he will find this Clara and live happily ever after. You'll have to read the book to find out if he does or not. I loved it!

I wanted to like Martin Page's "The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection." It has an intriguing premise and every so often, Page has a unique, sometimes witty, sometimes profound observation about the lives we humans lead. However, as the story is told, it is far too disjointed and incomplete, and at times as neurotic as its main character.

Virgil is surprised to receive a message from a woman named Clara in which he learns that she is breaking up with him. He is surprised she is breaking up with him, but because he has no recollection of being in a relationship with anyone. This strange event sets in motion a chain reaction within Virgil's life. At first he is certain that there must be something physically wrong with him for him to have forgotten an entire relationship and he assumes he is near death. When he calms down, he sets out on a quest to find Clara to figure out why she did what she did - was it all just a cruel joke? Virgil has to know the answer, but along the way he must confront sides of himself that he has kept locked away safely for years, hidden beneath the veneer of weekly therapy sessions and pretending to be something he is not.

"The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection" is an interesting, relatively fast-paced read. Perhaps something was lost in translation from the original French, for the storytelling is rather stilted at times. One thing I did not like was that Page expects his readers to be familiar with some of the lesser known aspects of psychology. But the biggest problem I had with this novel is that Virgil is extremely unlikeable, and even when he reaches his crisis of faith and knows what he wants to do, the reader is seemingly left out of his revelation.

Perhaps I just don't get it. The premise is good - a French sad sack named Virgil gets a phone message from a woman he does not know, announcing that she is breaking up with him. This throws Virgil for a loop, and he rushes to change his life in both interesting and dull ways. And then nothing much happens.

Yes, lots of good novels can be described this way. But that doesn't make this a good novel.

Every once in a while there's an insightful paragraph, something funny, or a fine observation. But all in all, the story goes noplace and isn't all that interesting while not getting there.

Maybe if I were French or had a better sense of humor I'd get it. But I just don't. Penguin doesn't usually publish duds, so I may be at fault here.

Your mileage may very well vary.

There is a common theme in this book and his previous book "How I Became Stupid". It is one of a man seeking to be something less than he is. The Product Description does a good job of summarizing the plot. The details fill out that storyline.

Page, though not laugh-out-loud funny, puts twists to his main character's habits that at least bring a smile and shake of the head. While being ridiculous on the surface, we each know someone similar to Virgil. He's the one who fits in only because of his differences from the group rather than his similarities.

The flow of the story leads me to believe the translation captured the feel of the original. Given that this is a short novel, it all came together well. This is a good light read to fill an evening or two.

Virgil is 31-year-old single male living in Paris. One day he comes home and finds a voice message from his girl friend Clara telling him she was leaving him. The problem is Virgil has no idea who Clara is. Panicked Virgil visits his shrink immediately, then decides that he is suffering from amnesia caused by a fatal brain disease. Virgil's eccentric and neurotic reactions are mostly funny, but sometimes it feels silly rather than funny.

I was expecting more like a wild-goose-chase mystery, but it wasn't. Clara is exactly you'd imagine who she is. There's no mystery to be solved.

There are some really funny parts and some insightful, interesting parts, but mystery (rather, no mystery) about Clara bothers me. I wanted some surprise in the end. 3 days after I finished reading this book, I still can't decide I liked this book or not. That's the mystery.