The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I came to this book by way of a trailer for the film based on it, Au Revoir La-Haut. The movie looked captivating, so of course I went looking for the novel, held by exactly four libraries in our far-flung Chicago-suburban library system. I devoured it in three nights, and now I’m sad because I don’t have it to look forward to in the evenings to come.
The plot has has been recapped elsewhere: two damaged veterans of the carnage of La Grande Guerre, literally dependent upon each for their lives, cook up a scam in the aftermath. It runs fast, it runs deep, it is shocking, painful, funny, creative, tragic; a dancing, rocketing, dervish of a story with more characters than you can keep track of. It was a huge winner in France; people compared it to Hugo…well, I wouldn’t go that far. Perhaps more Balzac or Zola, or even a French Dickens? It is not ponderous, digressive (well, sometimes, maybe), or particularly philosophical, some characters are thin – and some are deep, complex, and will crack your heart. But even some of the slapstick, the implausible coincidences, buffoonish bureaucrats and mustache-twirling profiteers say something about humanity’s excesses, greed, generosity, kindness, craziness, and brilliance. All in crisp, vivid, pull-no-punches language.
Just try it. And the film is available on Amazon Prime – it IS captivating, dazzling, heartbreaking, and in some respects (adapted by its director and star Albert Dupontel and the novelist Lemaitre) even better than the book.
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