Sign in with Facebook
Fionnuala's Reviews > Un pedigree
Un pedigree
by
by
For those of us who suspect Patrick Modiano of drawing on his own life for many episodes in his novels, and especially for the atmosphere of shady dealings and mysterious doings he often includes, this short memoir from 2014 is a very satisfying confirmation of our suppositions. It reads almost like a statement to the police, very matter-of-fact and unadorned, just the details of his life up to the age of twenty-one as he remembers them from the distance of sixty years, the events he experienced, the things he witnessed, the many people and places that were part of his life back in the late forties, fifties, and early sixties, the mother and father who were more absent than present, and the many different minders he had as a child, some of whom were wanted by the police.
With such a background it's no wonder he became a novelist—though not everyone with such a background could compose it the way he has done.
Félicitations, Patrick Modiano. You've used your life well.
With such a background it's no wonder he became a novelist—though not everyone with such a background could compose it the way he has done.
Félicitations, Patrick Modiano. You've used your life well.
Sign into ŷ to see if any of your friends have read
Un pedigree.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
December 3, 2024
–
Started Reading
December 4, 2024
–
Finished Reading
December 12, 2024
– Shelved
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Ilse
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Dec 16, 2024 08:23AM
Fionnuala, because you mentioned that you read 'Pedigree' in the comments on your review of 'Danseuse', I was curious about your thoughts on it and smiled finding the reward for that curiosity via your profile :). I concur heartily with your conclusion - for Modiano as a novelist, that unhappy childhood was truly a goldmine - and what a generous and crafty goldsmith he has been to his grateful readers. Having read this about ten years ago, this account worked as a key to his work for me - the depiction of the coldness of his mother ('She was a pretty girl with an arid heart') the sudden pang of understanding why each book of him is dedicated 'to Rudy' and his likening of himself with the chow-chow and a dog without a pedigree - I thought this a pretty devastating book.
reply
|
flag
I enjoyed this book too, Fionnuala and yes, it’s amazing that turned out to be such a fine writer after his childhood.
Fine review Fionnuala. Like Ilse, I read this one quite some time ago (at the time of publication I think) and, yes, I was also struck by the matter-of-fact narration. I admire Modiano as a storyteller but not sure I want to trade places with him to be honest. If that’s what it takes to be inspiring as an author, I prefer to be inspired as a reader. Have a lovely evening!
Ilse wrote: "Fionnuala, because you mentioned that you read 'Pedigree' in the comments on your review of 'Danseuse', I was curious about your thoughts on it and smiled finding the reward for that curiosity via your profile : ). I concur heartily with your conclusion - for Modiano as a novelist, that unhappy childhood was truly a goldmine..."Yes, it was quite a devastating book in spite of the unemotional narration, Ilse. And Rudi in the back room of Modiano's memory all these years! Reminded of Bloom's preoccupation with his own lost Rudi.
Thanks for seeking this review out, hardly a review in fact as I have no time and several other books to add to my 2024 reviews before the end of the year—the compulsion to review everything works smoothly all year and then by December it begins to break down just as life becomes ultra busy as the 'carnet de famille' takes on physical form:-)
I remember you recommending Modiano's Carnet de Famille to be read before this one but I've never been able to find it in a bookshop or online.
David wrote: "I enjoyed this book too, Fionnuala and yes, it’s amazing that turned out to be such a fine writer after his childhood."Maybe because of his childhood, David. All those years spent in fostering and boarding schools must have left him with pent-up feelings he could share with no one back then. And being a reader from an early age must have helped too. But most of all being a strong enough personality to survive all the neglect as well as to oppose his autocratic father at every turn, and eventually find a way to write. Very impressive.
Jeroen wrote: "...I admire Modiano as a storyteller but not sure I want to trade places with him to be honest. If that’s what it takes to be inspiring as an author, I prefer to be inspired as a reader..."Agreed, Jeroen. I would't want to have had his childhood—though I was sent off to boarding school at barely twelve! But I'd had a very secure and happy time up til then and didn't suffer too much.
It was great to read about his youth in Paris, troubled as it was. I understand better why he focuses so much on particular areas of the city in his novels, such as Bd Haussmann, and why cafés, especially on corners, play big roles. I bet that someone actually pinned his home address on his coat when he was a child as happened to a character in Pour que tu ne te perdes pas dans le quartier!
Brilliant not-review, Fionnuala which made me think whether the unhappy childhood is a prerequisite for being a writer:-). I have this book and I was planning to read it soon. But now i want to read Balerina more as well as his earlier work I’ve accumulated:-). I gathered somehow his bio facts. Did he write about Rudy already somewhere? I seem to know that his father was a Jew but a smuggler, collaborated. The boy was constantly moved around between some safe houses, placed with strangers, etc. it was an article a few years ago about three siblings who where found left alone somewhere at Costa Brava with a suitcase. They were adopted by a Spanish couple. But later one of them wanted to investigate who were their real parents. They found inconclusively that their dad was a French gangster either killed on in prison. So his friends just dropped the kids over the border and left at a petrol station. The oldest was 5. All of this has reminded me of Modiano.
I’ve found the article but cannot post the link as usual. It is the Guardian’s long read and it is called “Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mystery� just in case.
Katia wrote: "…I have this book and I was planning to read it soon. But now i want to read Balerina more as well as his earlier work I’ve accumulated:-). I gathered somehow his bio facts. Did he write about Rudy already somewhere?..."I hadn't come across reference to his younger brother Rudi before, Katia, but Modiano talks about him a lot in this book, and about when he died so young. It's the kind of thing that marks a person a lot. No wonder he dedicated all his books to him, as Ilse pointed out.
That story about the abandoned children sounds horrific. Modiano's childhood wasn't that bad at least.
Yes, I enjoyed the relationship between this 'memoir' and his works very much. It's a cheeky reminder that if you place any life's details within a narrative structure it will likely look like a novel. And only the author's craft makes a difference of quality. A fun thought.I took a similar view when I read Gerald Murnane's Last Letter to a Reader. At one level it could be his final novel, as memoir of rereading his books. It didnt matter if I was right or wrong. I wondered if reading a memoir was another kind of interpretative performance. And Modiano made this read like that too.
Interesting point about 'performance', Nick. Murnane's Last Letter did feel like one, and that he was very aware of it. With this Modiano, it could be a case of performance too—but only in parts. In other places it felt very rushed, as if it were something he wanted to be done with—but maybe that was part of the performance effect he wanted to convey. If so he succeeded because I read it as testimony in a witness stand—though he might be the only one in the extended family who wasn't guilty of any crime.
Fionnuala wrote: "Interesting point about 'performance', Nick. Murnane's Last Letter did feel like one, and that he was very aware of it. With this Modiano, it could be a case of performance too—but only in parts. ..."
Yes, he survived by not entering the crime business. It's a funny thought, isn't it, becoming a writer and avoiding the whole dark family stuff.
he certainly made quick work of memoir.
BTW, today I wrote to the ŷ people asking them why don't get any notifications any more . Then yours popped into my feed. I did test it by ticking the notify me box at the bottom of every review. Did the squeaky wheel work, or the manual ticking of the box? I may never know.
Glad you got this notification, Nick. Things maybe looking up—or it may be just a lottery:-)
It's so interesting that he composed this, as lacking in "composition" as it may have been. I wonder if he isn't (as subtext) telling his reader to get over this and join me where I am(?) I will remember this addendum exists when I finally arrive to read him! Thank you for drawing my attention to it. ;-)
Yes, I think you may have put your finger on the truth as usual, Antigone. As if he were saying, yes, you guessed right, I did have a mixed-up childhood, and of course it feeds my fiction, so now let me get back to writing what I enjoy writing!
