Synopsis
Their generation was anything but lost, at least in the beginning. Filled with fiery ambition and idealistic to a fault, they found their voice in the Paris of 1968 and were intent on exposing the powers of repression and the demons of Western capitalism (and what, really, was the difference?)—by any means. But the acts of violence misfired, the principles of Marxism and Maoism became emptied of meaning, and the casualties mounted. The protagonist Martin is now middle-aged; his group, "The Cause," is disbanded; his best friend has committed suicide; and he finds he must try to explain to the man's daughter who they were, what they thought they were doing, and what happened.
Paper Tiger takes place during one night that this unlikely couple spends driving around Paris as they revisit a somewhat distant past. This odyssey is adroitly evoked by Rolin's long, fluid sentences as they reflect the car's route past the sundry signs of the past and advertisements of the present dotting the Paris beltway.
This prize-winning novel by one of France's most acclaimed writers tells, through Martin, the elegiac story of a whole generation's coming of age.
Publishers Weekly
A former Communist radical recalls his revolutionary cell's late 1960s glory days as he drives around contemporary Paris and explains "the movement" to Marie, the daughter of a comrade who died under questionable circumstances. Back in the day, Martin and others in the cause wreaked havoc on the bourgeoisie, from vandalizing the villas of the rich to kidnapping the CEO of a company that was selling bomb components to the U.S. Air Force. But now, the aging idealist has trouble confronting the realities of the new millennium, with former comrades selling real estate and frequenting trendy bistros. In the end, the death is still a mystery to both Martin and Marie: was it suicide, or a stoned man's accident? And does it matter which? Shortlisted for the 2003 Goncourt Prize, the novel's emphasis on French politics, combined with the second-person, nearly stream-of-consciousness narration though superbly translated by Cloonan will make Rolin's latest rough sledding for American readers not already into dense French lit. (Mar.)
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