A worldly environment. A family in which the future of the children already seems all mapped out. And yet a failure that will lead the young Louis to loneliness, boredom, unable as he is to make important decisions himself. Marc Desaubliaux, whose seventh novel, offers us a very strong text, a real dive into the wandering and indecisive soul.
Being from a rich background does not necessarily bring happiness
No offense to some, the situation of Louis, son of a rich Parisian family, shows how money does not make happiness. It would have been enough for him to follow in his father's footsteps, and it was good, the young Louis would have taken over the family business, and everything would have been for the best in the best of all possible worlds. But it would have been too easy.
Wearyness, boredom, disinterest
Louis suffers. He never finds anything that really fascinates him. Whenever he begins to take an interest in something, time does the rest: he gets tired, he gets bored, and lets go. Where does this lack of interest come from? Several avenues are available to us but we never really know what it is. Is it the fact of having been raised in a family where he had everything at his disposal? Is it because of his painting skills that would have shown him that there is sometimes less effort to provide when one has innate gifts?
Louis' boring daily life
"A man without will" is a slice of life of a young man who never finds his way. Everything is doomed to failure with him, even his love stories. Sometimes it feels like reading pieces of life that are not finished and put end to end. Louis starts painting, but lets go of everything. He finds a young woman with whom he would like to make his life, but once again falls into indecision when he discovers feelings for another woman.
Louis' story: ups and downs, but especially lows
Louis still lives moments of happiness, and fortunately! But they will be ephemeral, and as with everything, will leave a taste of unfinished. Is it really him who decided to make this dangerous trip to the USSR in 1979 from which he will return changed, or is it rather because he felt obliged to do so?
Despite this boredom, this novel remains exciting for the reader!
Yes, it's possible! Notably thanks to the excellent pen of Marc Desaubliaux. We are completely caught up in Louis' life. The writing, very pictorial, sometimes gives us the impression of living the scenes. The rendering is very successful. We understand Louis' suffering. We hope that he will find a glimmer of hope somewhere that will make him want to go to the end of something and that he will finally be done with boredom and loneliness.
Fiction as real as life
"A man without will" is a fiction. But everything seems so true, so mastered by the author that one could almost believe in experience. The author goes to the end of things, without taboos, as evidenced by some rather raw passages on his relationship with Carole-Anne. The discomfort of the character is there, without frills. Reading is very fluid. It's a novel that devours itself!
To learn more about Marc Desaubliaux: https://www.marc-desaubliaux.fr/
