Voyage au bout de la nuit, de Louis-Ferdinand Céline

I had heard this book praised for a long time, but somehow I had never felt a wish to read it; maybe because of the author's fascist fame, maybe because I once read a book by him, Casse Pipe, that I didn't like. But I kept it on my "mental" list, and last May, when buying pocket books in Paris, I saw it and bought it.

I must admit it was quite a pleasant surprise. It's a great book, intense, beautiful and a most enjoyable read. The narrator tells his story of the First War experience, the African colonial set, a short stay in America, and the pettiness of the Parisian banlieue while being a poor doctor. His views and his observations of the human condition and nature are deeply pessimistic and pitiless, but expressed in a finely ironic humor and pervaded by a kind of tender sadness. His descriptions are mercilessly insightful, and reminded me of other merciless descriptions, such as by Thomas Wolfe or Jonathan Frazen.

And it was a good idea to read it in French, since the vernacular style is an intrinsic part of the book's charm. So, this good experience rekindled my wish to read another classic that's been waiting on my shelf for years: Ulysses!