Olivier Bourdeaut est n茅 au bord de l鈥橭c茅an Atlantique en 1980. L鈥橢ducation Nationale, refusant de comprendre ce qu鈥檌l voulait apprendre, lui rendit tr猫s vite sa libert茅. D猫s lors, gr芒ce 脿 l鈥檃bsence lumineuse de t茅l茅vision chez lui, il put lire beaucoup et r锚vasser 茅norm茅ment. Durant dix ans il travailla dans l鈥檌mmobilier allant de fiascos en 茅checs avec un enthousiasme constant. Puis, pendant deux ans, il devint responsable d鈥檜ne agence d鈥檈xperts en plomb, responsable d鈥檜ne assistante plus dipl么m茅e que lui et responsable de chasseurs de termites, mais les insectes achev猫rent de ronger sa responsabilit茅. Il fut aussi ouvreur de robinets dans un h么pital, factotum dans une maison d鈥櫭ヾition de livres scolaires 鈥� un comble 鈥� et cueilleur de fleur de sel de Gu茅rande au Croisic, entre autres. Il a toujours voulu 茅crire, En attendant Bojangles en est la premi猫re preuve disponible.
Eccentric is a word describing this family from the book blurb, but that is to say the least - that is not the half of it. It鈥檚 fun and funny, actually zany, sweet and endearing, something different and it鈥檚 really very sad. Yet, this is a story filled with so much love and that is overwhelmingly the biggest takeaway for me. The unconditional love these characters have for each other is the very heart of this story . A young boy, whose name we never know, relates his wacky life with his mother and father, a man who calls his wife a different name every day as they dance to Nina Simone singing Mr. Bojangles while they drink and then dance some more. His narrative alternates with excerpts from his father鈥檚 journal. It鈥檚 a charming life in so many ways, but a reckless way in which to raise a child and that may get to you as it did me. However, I fell in love with this family and the joy in their lives in spite of the thing that was lurking, the reality of mental illness. It鈥檚 a short book, so I鈥檒l skip telling anything of the plot. There is something beautiful about this story and it鈥檚 not surprising that it has won several French literary awards.
In an interview in the Wall Street Journal 5/9/16, Olivier Boudreaut says that wrote 鈥淲aiting for Bojangles鈥� 鈥渂ecause I was going through a gloomy time myself,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 thought that if people would be kind enough to read a novel I鈥檇 written then it would be good to offer them a change of atmosphere by creating a world that is a bit off-the-wall and resolutely optimistic in spite of everything that happens.鈥� He does just that.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through Edelweiss.
Poetry is a fascinating language. Iamb, iambic, trochee, ionic, pyrrhic, spondee, masculine rhymes, feminine rhymes, irregular rhymes; there are beats and measures and rhythms to poetry.
This book is and is not poetry; it does and does not have specific measures or rhythms throughout. It most definitely does have a very poignant story 鈥� a tale of a family who experiences great joys, and down times that are difficult and trying for everyone. This book is also not a comedy, although it is so funny in places I couldn鈥檛 help but laugh. It most definitely is not a romance, although love runs like a river through it all.
The family鈥檚 conversations are peppered with rhymes and various meters, as is the writing in this novel, in general. Most of it is written from the young boy鈥檚 point of view, although there are also excerpts from his father鈥檚 notebooks, too.
鈥漈he mirror always got the last word, because, she said, 鈥榶our outlook is moving, but the mirror鈥檚 is more objective. It judges truthfully, if cruelly, and never gets affected by the affective.鈥欌赌� * * * * 鈥漇o why doesn鈥檛 the man on the first floor ever work either? I see him taking out his garbage every day at four when I鈥檓 on my way to the grocery store. His eyes are puffy and his hair鈥檚 all choppy, and his clothes are always very sloppy. Don鈥檛 try to tell me that he鈥檚 still in school or I鈥檒l know you鈥檙e taking me for a fool!鈥�
鈥淣o, for the man on the first floor, it鈥檚 a different story. He鈥檚 lost his job, and I bet he鈥檇 be thrilled to have to work on Saturdays, the poor slob.鈥� * * * * She also taught him to be gallant 鈥� in her mind, being chivalrous was never frivolous. * * * * There was no room for us between her and her problems, there wasn鈥檛 even any air; they took up all the space that was there.
The narrative poem style of this novel was entertaining by itself, although at times I admit that for me, it had to be inhaled slowly, like a meditation. Of course, the humour made it a strange meditation 鈥� that, and the fact that it looks just like any other books - it just doesn鈥檛 read like them.
I loved the uniqueness of this novel as well as the blend of humour and pathos liberally sprinkled with fascinating bits of values and beliefs on the part of the characters. I grew to care for them 鈥� and although I haven鈥檛 yet mentioned Mr. Bojangles, reading this sent me to YouTube to find the rendition mentioned in this novel. I had never heard this version before, and I loved it. Mr. Bojangles was a song that was in my own repertoire and it never failed to move me while performing it or any other time I heard it. The version that was played so many times in this novel had the same rhythm and timing as the one I used to do 鈥� and it is different from the way many other performers play and sing it.
Rhyming, rhythms, (syncopated in one place in the song) 鈥� this novel has all of that along with a lovely, sad, triumphant story. At the end of it all, I wondered how a French narrative poem was transmuted into an English narrative poem because the words in these two languages rhyme only rarely, if at all. So what I really want to know is: how did Regan Kramer translate this from French to English so successfully? I am lost in wonder and awe.
Original and inventive. A Dr. Seuss kind of book but for adults dealing with a heartbreaking mental illness. The young boy in this book remains unnamed, his mother has different names bestowed on her by the father. A quirky, madcap life, totally without structure as the family tries to come to terms with the mothers manic moods in a totally unique way. The family live a free flowing life, one that flows and totally embraces the mothers moods. They even have a crane as a pet that is named Madam Superfluous. How clever is that?
I in no way embrace the things this young boy is allowed to do but do understand the heartbreak of living with someone who has a mental illness. There is so much love in this book, that is apparent and wonderful to behold. I've never read anything quite like this, but applaud the author for her different take on loving someone with a mental illness. Love so strong that one enters the illness itself. Unrealistic possibly, but stirring to read.
What a wonderfully crazy and delightful family that is encountered here, a couple and their young son. A couple madly in love, with a touch of crazy..a real mess unfolds in a most charming yet sad way, as mental illness takes over. I really enjoyed this story! I think you will too!
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC!
En attendant Bojangles est une belle claque 脿 tous les niveaux. J'ai tout simplement d茅vor茅 ce roman en une journ茅e ; tellement addictif. D'une l茅g猫ret茅 incroyable avec une plume fluide mais surtout magnifique. Je suis trop fan.
En attendant Bojangles, c'est l'histoire d'une famille hors du commun dont le couple, fou amoureux l'un de l'autre ne peut s鈥檈mp锚cher de danser encore et encore sur la musique de Nina Simone, Mister Bojangles, sous le regard 茅merveill茅 de leur petit gar莽on. Ils sont fougueux, d茅lur茅s, compl猫tement extravagants, fr么lant la folie douce et vivent dans leur bulle oubliant les tracas de la vie. Toujours du monde 脿 la maison, alors on fait la f锚te sans oublier l'alcool pour plus d'ambiance. L'enfant nous raconte tout 莽a avec cette fa莽on bien 脿 lui de s'exprimer 脿 cet 芒ge l脿. Tellement fier de ses parents. Tellement belle sa maman m锚me si parfois elle fait des choses bizarres. Tellement taquin et amoureux son papa, qu'il c猫de 脿 tous les caprices de sa maman.
On rigole aux phrases des protagonistes et puis, plus on avance, plus le c艙ur se compresse. Et pourtant ce livre fait du bien et en m锚me temps fait de la peine. Alors l'auteur fait parler le mari, cet homme pr锚t 脿 tout pour sa femme. Cette femme, cette maman si diff茅rente des autres. Fantasque. Dans son monde o霉 personne ne peut y rentrer pour quelques minutes, quelques heures, parfois un peu plus. M锚me ses deux amours n'ont pas la clef.
On ressent ce d茅sespoir, cet amour, cette passion, cette folie 脿 travers toutes ces lignes. Fascinant, captivant, hallucinant, euphorique, amusant... voil脿 ce que je viens de ressentir dans ce roman que je vous recommande vivement ! Ne passez pas 脿 c么t茅 de cette merveille. Tr猫s, tr猫s belle d茅couverte !
"This is my true story, with lies going backward and forward, because life is often like that."
Family and love are at the center of this family, a family dedicated to living life fully with an almost ever-present sense of joie de vivre, and don鈥檛 forget the music, dancing to Nina Simone鈥檚 version of Mr. Bojangles, and so much charm. But the ever-present theme in this is love. Love despite the stumbles and falls, love even as their world crumbles bit by bit around them, despite all the efforts to keep the crazy stuff at bay, love infuses it all, and that鈥檚 the feeling this leaves you with.
鈥滱lways a live wire, she had actually set our house on fire, attempting to burn away her sorrow with no thought for the morrow. In the innocent haze of happier days I had ignored the countdown, forgotten to track it, but now it was making an incessant racket.鈥�
Shared through the journal kept by the father, as well as through the eyes of the son, whose parents adore him, and each other 鈥� there is some humour here, but there is also a pervasive sense of melancholy, which ebbs and flows over time, but is always just around the bend.
Prior to writing this, the author had worked on another book for four years, when he found himself back at his parents post-retirement home in Spain where he found a 鈥漺arm refuge of love, and this story was born of that love and environment and written in seven weeks.
鈥漈hat鈥檚 the story of, that鈥檚 the glory of love.鈥� -- 鈥漈he Glory of Love鈥�, Bette Midler, Songwriters: Billy Hill
Many thanks, once again, to the Public Library system, and the many Librarians that manage, organize and keep it running, for the loan of this book!
Wat een ontzettend lieflijk boekje! Ik kan er geen betere omschrijving voor bedenken. Je wordt er droevig van en tegelijk ook blij. Een boek over een bijzondere vader en moeder en hun zoon, afwisselend verteld vanuit het perspectief van de zoon en de vader. De vader verzint de prachtigste leugens uit liefde voor zijn vrouw, die op een verrukkelijke manier lak heeft aan alle conventies. Moeder is namelijk op een hele prettige manier behoorlijk gestoord. Elke dag is het feest, men danst de hele nacht door met zijn twee毛n, met hun zoon, en meestal met de hele straat, het huis is altijd vol met gasten en het is een leuke bijzonderheid dat dit altijd gebeurt onder het toeziend oog van de struisvogel die zij eens van een reis naar Afrika hebben meegebracht. Omdat het elke dag feest is, verkoopt vader zijn zakelijk imperium, want hij heeft geen tijd meer om te werken en de jongen gaat daarom ook niet meer naar school. Dit leven geeft alleen maar plezier voor iedereen. Het is een sprookje! Zo mooi hoe de vader, die ook behoorlijk excentrieke trekjes vertoont, de moeder elke dag weer een nieuwe naam geeft. Hoe zou dat voelen, elke dag een nieuwe naam! Ik zou er geen bezwaar tegen hebben! Goede morgen Hortense, goede morgen Marie-Claire! Het is ontroerend te lezen hoe de vader en moeder elke dag diverse malen dansen op Waiting for Bojangles van Nina Simone. Deze plaat mag alleen maar op een bepaalde pick-up met de diamanten naald gedraaid worden. Andere platen zijn niet toegestaan op deze pick-up. Dat is elke keer weer een plechtig en prachtig ritueel. Het is heel knap hoe Olivier Bourdeaut die prettige, luchtige toon kan aanhouden tot het einde. Je houdt je hart namelijk vast voor deze lieve mensen. Je wilt dat hun fantasievolle leven eeuwig gaat voortduren, maar je weet dat de realiteit niet met zich laat spotten en hen uiteindelijk bij de kladden zal grijpen.
Een lieflijk en ook optimistisch stemmend boekje. Ik kan het aanbevelen.
4鈽� It took me just a bit to warm up to the author鈥檚 style of telling this short little story written in language right out of Dr. Seuss that Fred Rogers would appreciate.
鈥淎lways a live wire, she had actually set our house on fire, attempting to burn away her sorrow with no thought for the morrow. In the innocent haze of happier days I had ignored the countdown, forgotten to track it, but now, it was making and incessant racket.鈥�
But I came to appreciate it. It is not easy to write or read about mental illness and loving someone through it, but Olivier Bourdeaut has done just that in a 鈥渉appy and sad at the same time鈥� manner that ultimately stirred my heart and tear ducts. Highly recommend this if you鈥檝e ever been touched in any way by this sadness.
July 1, 2019 Update I've just reread this book for my book club and am stunned by what a different experience this is from my first time through. The difference is I know the whole story, so I understand everything (including the use of prose verse, which does not start immediately, but only after the first use of the father's first-person narrative), and rather than madcap, I'm finding this devastating. This is a story about love and madness: one person is mad by default; another chooses to descend into madness for love; and a child is left in the void. Oh my god, this is a great novel.
My earlier review This book is perfect鈥攆rom the cover illustration that instantly conveys the bon-vivant 鈥渢oujours gai鈥� (to borrow from Don Marquis鈥檚 Archy & Mehitabel) bubbliness of this eccentric family of a boy and his two madcap parents, to the interior design, to the inspired translation from the French by Regan Kramer: the whole book is written as prose verse with the most complicated internal rhyming and music鈥攊magine doing such a conversion from one language to another!
I don鈥檛 want to give anything away about the story because to do so would rob readers of delight, constant surprise, and perhaps uncontrollable sobbing. But while reading like Don Marquis鈥檚 verse, it manages to be a real novel鈥攁 story about a family that is funny, sad, and charming. And there are complex levels communicated inventively by alternating the boy鈥檚 narrative with one written by his father in a private novel where the devastating truth of the situation becomes apparent鈥攁ll the more devastating because it is delivered in the light-verse prose style that has been established. The result is original, arresting, and utterly gut-wrenching.
This book deserves all the awards it has received.
4.5* ...拧i nediduk臈 knygut臈 apie meil臋, beprotyb臋, kitoki膮 kasdienyb臋, kaip ir mano mylimos Nina Simone dainuojama "Mr. Bojangles"- 'truly crazy, happy and sad at the same time'.
I knew a man Bojangles Always danced with worn out shoes The silver hair, a ragged shirt And bare ragged paints The old soft shoe He jumps so high He jumps so high and Then he lightly touches down I met him in a New Orleans caf猫 He was down and out I knew a man, Bojangles, and he danced for you In worn out shoes With silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants The old soft shoe He jumped so high, jumped so high, then he lightly touched down I met him in a cell in New Orleans, I was So down and out He looked at me to be the eyes of age As he spoke right out He talked of life, he talked of life He laughed, clicked heels instead Mister Bojangles Mister Bojangles Mister Bojangles Dance! He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs Throughout the south He spoke with tears of fifteen years How his dog and he traveled about His dog up and died, dog up and died After twenty years he still grieved He said, I dance now at every chance in honky tonks For drinks and tips But most of the time I spend behind these county bars He said, I drink a bit He shook his head and as he shook his head I heard someone ask, please Mister Bojangles Mister Bojangles Mister Bojangles Dance!
...Ap啪avejo mane 拧i melancholi拧ka istorija ir stipriai nustebino savo 寞domia ir unikalia kalba - didel臈 dalis teksto rimuojasi/ritmuojasi. Ta膷iau, kaip supratau lietuvi拧kame vertime to nelik臋. Klausiausi knygos angli拧kai, kur 寞skaitytojas dar net tuos rimus stipriai akcentuoja. I拧 prad啪iu tai mane kiek erzino ir bla拧k臈, bet v臈liau nebe寞sivaizdavau 拧io romano skamb臈jimo kitaip. O ir tas fonetinis autoriaus "啪aidimas" juk ne be prie啪asties 膷ia... Beje, ka啪kur perskai膷iau, kad pranc奴zi拧kai 拧is tekstas skamba daug graks膷au, nei angli拧kai. 漠keliu pora pavyzd啪i懦:
鈥漇o why doesn鈥檛 the man on the first floor ever work either? I see him taking out his garbage every day at four when I鈥檓 on my way to the grocery store.His eyes are puffy and his hair鈥檚 all choppy, and his clothes are always very sloppy. Don鈥檛 try to tell me that he鈥檚 still in school or I鈥檒l know you鈥檙e taking me for a fool!鈥�
鈥淣o, for the man on the first floor, it鈥檚 a different story. He鈥檚 lost his job, and I bet he鈥檇 be thrilled to have to work on Saturdays, the poor slob.鈥�
Quand c'est le narrateur qui 茅crit, c'est du Petit Nicolas. Quand c'est son p猫re (extraits de son roman), c'est vianesque par certains c么t茅s. Et j'ai m锚me trouv茅 quelques passages qui permettraient de le relier 脿 Jasper Fforde. Rien que cela aurait pu parler en faveur du roman mais comment vous d茅crire ce sentiment de g锚ne qui ne m'a pas quitt茅e pendant toute la lecture? Le bonheur trop heureux, l'extravagance trop extravagante, la folie trop folle, la joie trop joyeuse? La mi猫vrerie trop mi猫vre aussi, au fond. Et les jeux de mots... non, ils ne sont pas pourris, c'est pire, ils sont juste nuls mais ont l'air de faire le bonheur (trop heureux) de tout le monde. J'ai beau 锚tre une 茅trang猫re, cela me met mal 脿 l'aise. Si, le roman a quelques avantages: il se lit facilement et vite (Paris-Moscou avec escale 脿 Munich, et le tour est jou茅), il y a quelques phrases r茅ussies (je ne manquerai pas de les citer dans ma revue 脿 venir sur livejournal), il incite 脿 r茅fl茅chir 脿 certains aspects de relations humaines (je ne suis m锚me pas s没re que l'auteur l'ait pr茅vu... Encore moins que ces r茅flexions nous am猫nent 脿 se souvenir de "La maison de papier" de Fran莽oise Mallet-Joris, par exemple) Ma petite note peut para卯tre m茅chante mais bon, je fais partie de la minorit茅 et puis, Olivier Bourdeaut a eu son prix et en plus, il est beau gosse et Didier van Cauwelaert commence 脿 vieillir, je ne m'inqui猫te donc pas pour l'avenir de l'auteur d茅butant.
4.5/5 stars J'ai l'impression d'avoir attendu ce livre toute ma vie. Il est tout ce qu'on peut aimer dans un roman..gai, triste, poignant, l茅ger, amusant, profond, super bien 茅crit mais aussi super bien narr茅. Je vous recommande d'茅couter ce livre, vous allez rire 脿 haute voix et peut-锚tre pleurer, vous allez 锚tre emport茅e par cette musique qui survole tout le r茅cit, ce Bojangles aux notes chaudes et langoureuses, cette famille pas comme les autres, ces parents dr么les et sarcastiques et qui n'arr锚tent pas de danser et de voyager, cet enfant (le narrateur) qui ne les comprend pas tout le temps mais qui les aime, cette folie douce et cruelle au centre de l'histoire..cette fin d茅chirante mais n茅cessaire! Un livre sans queue ni t锚te mais d'une intelligence inou茂e, se lit d'une traite et marque les esprits. Un roman original et rafraichissant qui ne ressemble 脿 aucun autre! 茅coutez les deux premi猫res minutes, vous serez conquis!
The good surprise of french novel in 2016. And a first book. A crazy mother, but it is a soft, creative madness. The father in totally love for this strange woman and a son spectator, happy of the happiness of his parents but excluded from this fusional couple. Soundtrack ; Nina Simone, especially Bojangles. This choice is not innocent. Nina Simone was more than a singer, it was a tragic actress. I recently saw the film on the 50 year old on Montreux festival. Her interpretation of " Feeling" is incredible. It is on youtube. In spite of, the humour and the imagination of the beginning, we know that the drama will be there. Funny, moving, sad, a maitrised style. A true reussite.
I was not prepared for the journey that this book took me on. I found myself putting it aside and then revisiting it in the beginning having experienced people close to me living with loved ones with mental illness. This little book opened my eyes to a whole new way to live the journey. As I traveled deep into this family鈥檚 venture,I found myself asking 鈥淲hat if?鈥� Instead of falling into my initial thoughts.
I believe that love is truly one of the strongest balms to be found and that is what the essence of this story is about. How far would we go for love? I opened my mind and traveled this path to find love,kindness,sacrifices, zaniness,and the act of embracing life for what we are given instead of trying to fight the fight of conformity.
The love here was to reach beyond my 鈥渃ommon sense 鈥� and took me on a journey that I grew to embrace. I discovered lovely writing, unexpected thoughts, twinges in my heart, misty eyes, and even some re-evaluated views.
And the icing on the cake is that I fell in love with The song Mr Bojangles all over again! I could not help but to delve into its history and explore the variety of artists that had recorded it over the years. A treasure in itself!
M膿s uzzinam par 沤or啪a un vi艈as sievas neparasto m墨lasst膩stu caur vi艈u d膿la ac墨m. 沤or啪a 模imene dz墨vo nebeidzam膩s ball墨t膿s, neparastos piedz墨vojumos, uz艈em viesus, ce募o uz savu pili, abi ar sievu m墨l st膩st墨t neticamus st膩stus, dejot, dzert koktei募us un iegrie啪 ar墨 sava d膿la dz墨vi l墨dzi vien膩 jautr膩 virpul墨. Bet dz墨v膿 n膩kas ar墨 sastapties ar re膩l膩m probl膿m膩m, no kur膩m ar laiku nepagl膩bs ar墨 spilgta fant膩zija. 沤or啪s ar sievu man atg膩din膩ja citu p膩ri, kas dejo, dz墨vo ekscentriski un ir nepr膩t墨gi iem墨l膿ju拧ies viens otr膩...
M墨lest墨ba ir sp膿c墨ga, m墨lest墨ba ir traka, m墨lest墨ba var b奴t ar墨 egoistiska.
Labai daug visko 拧itoje knygoje. K膮 nor臈site rasti joje, t膮 ir rasite, nes gro啪is ir siaubas, juokas ir a拧aros, "sveika ir normalu" ir "beprotyb臈" - 拧alia. A拧 radau visko po truput寞 ir man labai patiko. Rekomenduoju.