Other Press, 400 pages, $16.99
Wow! What a roller coaster ride!
I’ve noticed that other reviews reveal quite a bit of the plot of “The Anomaly.” Forgive me, but I am choosing not to reveal so much. If you’ve come here for spoilers, seek elsewhere, wayfarer.
Author Hervé Le Tellier begins his book with short chapters, each dealing with a different character. There are about a dozen of them. At first, it is not obvious what they have in common. You begin to guess after a few chapters, but when that commonality is baldly stated, it is bizarre and so very intriguing. This is both a book I’ve read before and also one no one has ever written before. Le Tellier puts together pieces of plot which are like plot lines in others’ books. It is not plagiarism; it is a unique re-assembling of writing blocks.
The first chapter is about an assassin. He has an identity as a “normal” French man. He has a family and a bland job. The assassin part of him is all business. Got a problem, contact “Blake.” Pfft. Problem gone.
Blake was the character who was different from the other characters in a couple of huge respects. When you read this book, you will know what I am talking about when you reach those elements. I decided at first that he was going to assassinate all the other characters. I will break my own rule and tell you that no, that is not it. The resolution to his story is unusual. It is hard to find enough synonyms for bizarre, unique, unexpected, unusual, different, but that is what a review of this book needs.
Even when the book veers off into philosophy, Le Tellier keeps the tension high. I also will say this, his characters are very human, knowable, you and me in many respects. (Except the assassin.)
“The Anomaly” was just released in English. Le Tellier, a French resident, has sold a million copies in Europe.
Here’s an MBTB star for a book I cannot explain.
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