The Birthday Party

Shortlisted for the 2023 Republic of Consciousness Prize US & Canada Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize "Colours, at night, when they are exposed to artificial lights, are drowned in a world where they lose all the depth and power they naturally accommodate in the light of day." What a......more

4.5, rounded up. I'm as surprised as anyone how much I enjoyed this, since it features my number 1 bête noire in literature - convoluted, paragraph-long run-on sentences. It actually took me several tries to even get through the first page, which features a first sentence of about 300 words. But once......more

Jon McGregor calls this book a ‘slow-motion thriller’ and it’s spot on. It is a French literary novel, with long, flowing sentences covering just one, terrible day in over 500 pages. It is set in an isolated hamlet of three houses in rural Central France, where farmer Patrice has taken the day off t......more

4.5 rounded up Excellent literary thriller. Propulsive writing, long winding sentences, drawn out plot that just raises the tension.......more

The Birthday Party is a clear indication that Europeans have a way of doing things which separate them from the rest of the world. I’ll explain myself. The Birthday Party takes place in a farmhouse in a French hamlet. The family consists of father, Patrice, mother, Marion and their child Ida. Also the......more