French Leave (2009) by Anna Gavalda is a novel about four siblings who reunite after ditching a family wedding. It was originally published in French as L'Échappée Belle (The Beautiful Escape). I read the English translation of the novel by Alison Anderson published by Europa Editions.
The story begins when Simon and his wife Carine pick up Simon’s younger sister Garance to take her to a family wedding. Carine and Garance do not get along, and they spend much of the drive provoking one another. For instance, Garance waxes her legs in the back seat, much to Carine’s dismay (mine too). During the drive, Garance notices that Simon and Carine have had a fight and that her brother is upset.
Simon receives a call from his sister Lola who has decided at the last minute to attend the wedding. She recently got divorced and wasn’t sure if she was up to seeing her family. Lola asks Simon to pick her up too, which further displeases Carine. Once the group reaches the wedding, Simon, Garance, and Lola are disappointed to learn that their brother Vincent will not be there.
The siblings end up escaping the wedding, leaving Carine and their mother behind, to visit Vincent at the chateau he works at. Together, they share old memories, buoy one another up, and bond with a feeling of joyous freedom, before returning to their regular lives the next day. It’s a mainly light, happy read about the bonds between brothers and sisters.
The story was narrated by Garance, and I think I would have enjoyed the novel more if one of the other siblings had been the narrator. Garance was sometimes thoughtful and humorous, but she was also immature and unlikable. She complains that members of Carine’s family insult Arabs, but later calls Nono, Vincent’s co-worker "Way Retarded." She was as judgmental as those she criticized. Moreover, Garance brought a sari to wear to the wedding, but she didn’t seem to know how to properly put it on. She had no reason to dress in one, so it all seemed like an effort to draw attention to herself.
I don’t think the reader was meant to sympathize with Carine at all, but I did at times. It was clear that she was struggling to fit in with her husband’s “cool” siblings, and Simon was aware of her issue. While Simon enjoyed his escape, Carine was trapped alone at a wedding with her husband’s extended family, and Simon had abandoned her. Of all the siblings, I liked Vincent the most, probably because he just seemed to be living his own life happily.
Overall, it was a fun story with a unique idea. I haven’t read many books about adult siblings.
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