The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild

This is not a comment on the novel itself, which I have not yet finished but which is, so far, an engrossing read, but a warning to those purchasing the Kindle edition that it has not been properly proofread. This is particularly noticeable after David's journal ends in the first part of the book, and various alternative/extraneous words are shown alongside (or simply duplicating) the correct(?) ones in places. Disappointing - as the writing is rich.

Easy to read difficult to put down.

Mixed feelings about this one. Some of it I loved. Some of it I didn’t like at all. Basically there are three parts to the narrative. David Mazon moves to a village in France from Paris to research his anthropology thesis, intending to interview the local inhabitants. Once there he becomes more and more involved with the residents and begins to forge relationships with them. So far so good. The first person voice is really amusing, and David’s thoughts, feelings and reactions are both insightful into his own behaviour and into that of the people he meets, with some clever observations. Useful for an anthropologist. I enjoyed these sections of the novel. But then we have long historical digressions about the ancestors of the local inhabitants and these were simply boring. I didn’t see why they were included as they added nothing to David’s story. And then there’s the eponymous banquet, a sort of Rabelaisian feast which I didn’t want to read about. Pretty grotesque, most of it, to be honest. Death stalks the book, and there’s a lot about transmigration of souls and reincarnation, much of which went over my head. I found myself skipping these episodes. But when I got back to David my interest revived, and although I can understand why some readers gave up and didn’t finish, it was worth persevering as there’s more to be enjoyed once past the banquet. But the three aspects just didn’t cohere for me, and felt disconnected. Maybe I missed the point? So only a partial reading pleasure for me.

An engaging novel. The translation was transparently good. The story is interesting, though it sometimes sagged under the weight of descriptions of food.

This is an entertaining beast of a novel: almost 500 pages, it centres ("focuses" is hardly the word) on an anthropologist who moves from Paris to western France to study the "natives". Énard takes this as a starting point to tell the stories firstly of the local people, and (by reincarnation) the history of the area. The central banquet is particularly, and explicitly, Rabelaisian, and represents the book's extreme of fantasy; the anthropologist's own story is essentially realistic, but somewhat under-motivated. As with many other works from this otherwise great publisher, there are many proofreading errors (also in the printed book), but they're not such as to spoil the experience.

I was recommended this by a bookseller I trusted who said that after the wateriness of current UK fiction "you feel as if an adult has entered the room". There are many fine things in it. Ennard is a talented ventriloquist at ease in a range of voices, ancient and modern. But he too often gets lost in his decorations. The Rabelaisian parts were, for me, the least successful. They blurred the narrative so that it was hard to feel involved. The author failed to inhabit his characters. They were the cavorting products of his scrupulous research, but I didn't care for any of them or for the irritating and sentimental protagonist who did not seem at all adult. I wish I'd liked it more. Michel Houellebecq is a bad comparison.

A French anthropology PhD student moves from Paris to rural France to conduct interviews with the locals on the current nature of French rural life. The book is initially nicely paced, and the characters are mostly likeable. The book then shifts to a description of the annual bacchanalian party of the eponymous Gravediggers Guild. While related to the books themes of reincarnation I found this section unsatisfying and dull, especially the long esoteric lists of food and drink consumed by the attendees. The books conclusion is also rather conventional at least in terms of the romantic elements, which seems rather at odds with earlier aspects and ambitions of the novel. Overall I enjoyed reading this novel but doubt I would read it again.