Monday, November 8, 2021

15th Canadian Challenge - 8th Review - Mr. Blue

This was another book that was dropped off in my Little Free Library: Mr. Blue by Jacques Poulin.  Mr. Blue is actually the name of a cat owned (that is, if cats can be "owned") by a middle-aged writer who lives by himself on the banks of the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City.  He is still struggling to get over a break-up, and he also seems somewhat stuck in his latest writing project.  One day he finds someone has parked a boat nearby and appears to be living at least part-time in a natural cave.  He discovers a book (The Arabian Nights) and essentially dreams up an unknown woman ("Marika") that he falls for; she also becomes a bit of a muse for him, though it doesn't seem that he actually gets much further in his writing...  

SPOILERS AHEAD

Other people enter the picture, and while they claim to know Marika, it is just as likely that they are just humouring him in his delusions.  It is left unclear by the end of the novel whether Marika truly existed or was just a figment of his imagination, though my money is on her non-existence.  In a slightly strange twist, he more or less adopts a young woman, as a kind of surrogate daughter.  The writing (or at least the translation) is fairly flat and affectless, and the whole book is sort of infused with a melancholy air.  Here's a slightly longer take on Mr. Blue.

No comments:

Post a Comment