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Ron Charles's Reviews > The Anomaly
The Anomaly
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With anti-mask vigilantes, the omicron virus and lost luggage, you already have enough to worry about when flying.
But here’s one more variant of concern: Before landing, you might be spontaneously duplicated.
That’s the mind-bending premise of France’s hottest novel, “L’anomalie,” by Hervé Le Tellier, a former science journalist and a member of experimental writing group Oulipo. Winner of the 2020 Prix Goncourt, “L’anomalie” has already sold more than a million copies in the author’s homeland, and now it arrives in the United States on a tail wind of international acclaim.
Make sure any carry-on expectations are placed completely under the seat in front of you. Although Americans are frustratingly xenophobic when they make reading choices, “The Anomaly,” translated by Adriana Hunter, could be the rare exception. It’s French, but not trop francais. The book’s intellectuality is neatly camouflaged by its impish humor. Indeed, with its elegant mix of science fiction and metaphysical mystery, Le Tellier’s thriller is comfortably settled in the middle seat between “Lost” and “Manifest.”
Much is left unexplained in “The Anomaly,” but all the characters agree on one thing: Their Air France flight from Paris to New York in the spring of 2021 is a . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
But here’s one more variant of concern: Before landing, you might be spontaneously duplicated.
That’s the mind-bending premise of France’s hottest novel, “L’anomalie,” by Hervé Le Tellier, a former science journalist and a member of experimental writing group Oulipo. Winner of the 2020 Prix Goncourt, “L’anomalie” has already sold more than a million copies in the author’s homeland, and now it arrives in the United States on a tail wind of international acclaim.
Make sure any carry-on expectations are placed completely under the seat in front of you. Although Americans are frustratingly xenophobic when they make reading choices, “The Anomaly,” translated by Adriana Hunter, could be the rare exception. It’s French, but not trop francais. The book’s intellectuality is neatly camouflaged by its impish humor. Indeed, with its elegant mix of science fiction and metaphysical mystery, Le Tellier’s thriller is comfortably settled in the middle seat between “Lost” and “Manifest.”
Much is left unexplained in “The Anomaly,” but all the characters agree on one thing: Their Air France flight from Paris to New York in the spring of 2021 is a . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
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Reading Progress
November 20, 2021
–
Started Reading
November 20, 2021
– Shelved
November 20, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 30, 2021
– Shelved as:
apocalyptic
November 30, 2021
– Shelved as:
spooky-creatures
November 30, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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Jill
(new)
Nov 30, 2021 09:42PM
"Before landing, you might be spontaneously duplicated." Man, I hate when that happens.
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Your review makes the book sound a lot more intriguing and fun than the three-star rating would've led me to believe.
Alex wrote: "Your review makes the book sound a lot more intriguing and fun than the three-star rating would've led me to believe."You know, I always have trouble with the stars! I should just stop using the stars altogether. I hate them, I think they're silly, and I think they're wildly distorting and useless....
Ron wrote: "You know, I always have trouble with the stars! I should just stop using the stars altogether. I hate them, I think they're silly, and I think they're wildly distorting and useless...."You're probably right. (I think my comment has more to do with my own sensitivity to receiving three-star ratings.) To be sure, the stars are less useful than a well-written review. The Anomaly sounds like a book worth checking out, at any rate.
