Heatwave, Or, Holden Caulfield Vacations À La Française

Trigger Warning: suicide.

If Holden Caulfield lived in 2020, was a French 17-year-old incel, vacationed in the Landes with his family, and witnessed a suicide - he would be the narrator of this book. That said, if it’s ever adapted for film I would 200% watch it. Go figure.

If you prefer to like the main character of the book you’re reading… you will hate this one. I hated most characters in this book, however so does the narrator. He hates everything except a girl named Luce - and he even hates her most of the time (unsurprisingly when she denies his overwrought advances). I devour novellas because I can read them cover to cover in a single evening - even when I decide to hate-read a book that isn’t my cup of tea. It’s fun regardless.

I try to read as few cis male straight (I think Jestin is straight? this is purely an assumption) white novelists. I haven’t in months. The author of this book is twenty-six, it’ss his debut, and he won some fancy awards for it. I had a feeling I would despise it but truthfully I was seduced by the cover. When I saw it in the library’s “newly acquired items” cart I figured, what the hell. It’s just a skinny little thing and sounded like a salacious summer read.

There were elements I liked. It is a translated work and the sentences are occasionally noteworthy. I enjoy those moments of everyday speech and then a poetic line seemingly out of nowhere. The story moved speedily from scene to scene much like a film, which makes sense since the author is also a screenwriter.

I really like the idea that the heat can make people - and dogs - do awful, unforgivable things. I wish that had been expanded upon even more and the adolescent obsession to hook up with anything that moves was left out. If Heatwave were any longer I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

Occasionally reading something I can’t stand is enjoyable to me and this is one creepy, twisted, cynical little book. It has one hell of an opening paragraph, though, I’ll give it that.