A man wakes up in hospital in plaster from head to foot and with various tubes attached to some complicated looking machinery. He is told that he must stay immobile for some time to aid his recovery. He vaguely remembers falling from a bridge over the river Seine in Paris. This is not the start of a mystery thriller but a very humane story of recovery from a serious accident.

Jean-Pierre Fabre is 67 years old, he is a widower and currently lives alone in an apartment in Paris. Marie-Sabine Roger writes about his painful and slow recovery from the accident. He is visited by the police who want to establish wether it was a suicide attempt and learns that he was dragged to safety by a young student who happened to be passing by. He adapts to the pace of life in the hospital, the visits of the surgeon and his entourage, the girl who comes to empty his waste fluid, the nurse who attends to his general health. He certainly has time on his hands and a whole new small world to get used to. He thinks about his life, and we learn it has not been exemplary, while he has not been cruel he has certainly been self possessed and was a tear-away when a teenager. His male chauvinism runs deep and he slowly comes to terms with making new relationships with the people that work in the hospital. When he is able, he starts to write his thoughts down on his lap-top, but then must cope with the young ward orderly who claims use of his computer. He meets the student who pulled him out of the river, a gay youth turning tricks to get himself through college. Jean-Pierre adapts to these new relationships in his life, sometimes wittily, sometimes cringe worthy, but increasingly with more compassion.

The novel has moments of wry humour, some thoughts on the quality of life, with death not too far away, but always from Jean-Pierres point of view. The success of this book is that it puts the reader in bed with John-Pierre, which is by no means a comfortable place to be. It has to be said that the book is also an endorsement of the health service in France. John-Pierre usually has a room to himself, the workers in the hospital are quietly efficient and everything runs smoothly, there is no lack of care or attention, in fact too much attention from John-Pierres point of view.

The book only covers John-Pierre's stay in hospital and so we don't know if his experience had a lasting effect, but from actions that he takes towards the end of his recovery, we suspect he leaves a wiser person than when he was brought in. Philosophical thoughts are not overdone, as the novel concentrates on the here and now, while allowing memories of John-Pierres earlier life to colour his thoughts, while inactive in his hospital bed. A good novel and four stars. ( )

How good is this book? Well, I'd just moved... and found time to read it among the boxes & furniture placement. In spare first person, translated from the French prose, Ms Roger presents a widower, Jean-Pierre, in hospital, recently fished out of the Seine. At some point in his recovery, he decides to journal this experience -- and some of his life -- which forms the novel. His present world includes a teenage girl (also a patient) who borrows his laptop to update her Facebook page, the young policeman who brought him to the hospital, a young French rent-boy who saved his life, nurse Myriam, old friends via email, and disconnected family.

Our hero is basically a lonely old codger, now with broken bones & a broken spirit to match... and he's pretty sure he wasn't trying to kill himself. But he does not know why he fell off a bridge, into the Seine, in the middle of the night.

The journal format tracks his physical and spiritual healing. But not sweetly... one is not overwhelmed by the wonderfulness of life. No, this mash-up of characters each have hidden lives, which frequently irritates or confuses the others. Revelations are deliberate, interesting, and not completely unexpected.

I liked it so much I was surprised & disappointed to find myself at the end. I'm almost tempted to read it in French. Thanks to Edelweiss & Pushkin Press for the opportunity to preview this ARC. ( )

Es ist schon länger her, dass mich eine Geschichte so gefangen nimmt, dass ich das Buch an einem Tag durchlese - hier ist es passiert. Marie-Sabine Roger schreibt (in der Übersetzung von Claudia Kalscheuer) so flüssig, dass ich mich dem Sog der Geschichte nicht entziehen konnte, obwohl gar nicht viel passiert:

Der kinderlose Witwer Jean-Pierre wird nach einem Unfall von Camille, einem Gelegenheits-Prostituiertem, aus der Seine gefischt und landet mit Gedächtnisverlust im Krankenhaus. Dort möchte er eigentlich nur seine Ruhe haben, wird aber nicht nur von seinem Bruder, sondern auch vom Polizisten Maurice, von der jungen Patientin Maeve und auch von Camille besucht - und ständig vergessen die Pfleger, seine Zimmertür zu schließen.

Zum Zeitvertreib (er ist nach dem Unfall zunächst an's Bett gebunden) versucht er sich an seinen Memoiren, und so erfährt der Leser immer mehr zu seiner Person, was auch einen Blick hinter seine Fassade ermöglicht. Die Rückblenden werden dann auch immer wieder durch Szenen in seinem Krankenzimmer unterbrochen - sei es eine der vielen Visiten (mehr als ein Facharzt schaut regelmäßig nach dem Rechten) oder eben der ruhestörende Besuch.

Der ganze Roman ist aus der Perspektive von Jean-Pierre geschrieben, bleibt aber durch die vielen Reflektionen nicht eindimensional. Und Marie-Sabine Roger gelingt es, auch schwierige Themen mit einer gut lesbaren Leichtigkeit im Ausdruck zu erzählen. Dieser Roman macht Lust auf mehr - bleibt zu hoffen, dass der Verlag bei den Büchern von Marie-Sabine Roger die Übersetzerin nicht wechselte. ( )

Gave it a go, hung around for a good while, and then just had to let it be. Not for me. And not very good. Or believable. ( )

I loved the character of Jean-Pierre Fabre. A 67 year old somewhat curmudgeon type of man, at least he tries to be, who has just woke from a coma in the hospital. He has no idea how he got there and why he was recovered from the Seine.

You would think that a story that takes place in one hospital room over a period of several months would be a kind of boring story. However, the author has added several quirky characters each with a different exchange with Jean-Pierre.

I loved John-Pierre, his crustiness and his big heart.

Thanks to Pushkin Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. ( )