Literature

Joël Dicker - The deep plot, too ambitious?

3 reading minutes

written by Nicolas Jutzet · March 27, 2018 · 0 comment

Joël Dicker – L’intrigue profonde, trop ambitieuse?

Les lettres romandes du mardi - Nicolas Jutzet

Joël Dicker's new novel, reminiscent in its depth of the one that made him widely known - The Truth About Harry Quebert - has barely hit bookstore shelves before it's already topping the sales charts. Business as usual, in short. And yet, of course, The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer is a new kind of risk-taking. Another winner?

Mixing and interweaving characters, so numerous that we sometimes get lost, the story quickly reveals its weakness. The author seems to have overindulged, unnecessarily complicating a fluid story. Between the quadruple murder, the team-mate, the mayors and their deputies, the husbands and ex-husbands, the editor-in-chief and the second-in-command, the story is saturated.

As the story unfolds, we end up feeling sorry for so much chicanery. Is literary bureaucracy a Joël Dicker invention? For the rest, as in previous books, we remain glued from first to last page to the desire to know «the truth». The truth that finally gushes out, like a geyser, in the final apotheosis.

Length a hindrance?

The impression of getting lost in the multitude of characters is undoubtedly encouraged by the narrator's incessant rotation, as chapter after chapter changes to present his vision of the story's evolution. And yet, we have in our hands a pared-down version. During his stint at « On n'est pas couché», the author revealed that the manuscript was originally twice as thick. Would the richness of the characters and visions have suffered from this editorial compression?

Doubt remains, leaving us with a slight regret, as the novel, for all its ease of approach, seems indigestible in parts. This is the analysis shared by star columnist Yann Moix, who indulged in a slight reframing who stands out in this sea of praise. The exchange deserves a brief transcription:

Laurent Ruquier: «I'm not sure it's the literature of my comrades, I'd rather tell you right now.»
Yann Moix: «I'd remove “de mes camarades”: I'm not sure it's literature at all!»

Behind the deceptively polemical phrase, however, lies a judgment that is understandable and admissible, even for the avid reader. Joël Dicker is a successful author, who knows how to captivate the attention of bookworms, without however having his place among the «great» authors. Some authors must be read; others are. Far from being despicable, this fringe of literature should be cherished by fine minds like Monsieur Moix's. Joël Dicker serves as a gateway to other readings, perhaps more demanding, perhaps less so, but he makes people read, and that's to his credit. Let's not forget.

«There's nothing I love more than sunrise, in any season, over the marina. To see the inky horizon pierced by a bright pink and then orange dot, and to see that ball of fire slowly rising above the waves.»

What next?

The adaptation of his bestseller The Truth About Harry Québert under the direction of Jean-Jacques Annaud will soon see the light of day, but not before having turned down Steven Spielberg, who had shown an interest in the project. A new stage in the Genevan director's adventure, so far without a hitch. It's also an opportunity to mention Joël Dicker's publisher, Bernard de Fallois, recently deceased, president and founder of Editions de Fallois, who was the first to believe in the man who is now a worldwide star.

For my part, of Joël Dicker's work, which has once again managed to enthrall readers, my favourite book remains The Last Days of Our Fathers, less thrilling and addictive than the rest of his work, but infinitely more intimate and touching, through its coldness, the wartime period, and then its warmth, through the beauty and depth of its characters. In short, there's something for everyone in today's author's bibliography, as long as you're willing to spend a pleasant reading moment, without necessarily expecting to read Joris-Karl Huysmans or another more demanding classic.