Grey soul

Author: Philip Klossel
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: The Grey Soul is considered a "contemporary masterpiece" that blends philosophical fiction, romance, war fiction, and detective fiction. The novel, published in France last autumn, received rave reviews and topped the list of "Top 20 Books of 2003 in France" as selected by the authoritative French magazine L'. "It's both a social novel and a historical novel, a detective novel, and a romance novel—even a novel about the power of writing. Almost everything is there, perhaps precisely for this reason, that it has won readers' favor. Everyone can find something they like in the book." The book is permeated with a cold, grey tone from beginning to end, not just the "souls," but also the remote countryside, the low-hanging sky, the dimly lit bars, the slow-flowing water in the canals, the chimneys of factories emitting black smoke, the wounded soldiers constantly withdrawn from nearby battlefields, and the series of mysterious murders appearing in the village. Almost everything is shrouded in grey. However, reading this book will not make readers feel tired, because so many vivid characters appear before them. The author writes people without unnecessary embellishment; he also doesn't have the space to do so, often using a sketch-like style to quickly outline a character's image and then leave them behind. Yet, these characters leave an indelible impression in the reader's mind: "Janesh Haidék, a Bulgarian immigrant, whose French was terrible during the fast, but after two glasses of wine, he could recite the famous quotes of Voltaire and Lamartine"; "Jules Abonfèl, a giant who was over two meters tall, with a voice like a woman and movements like a large monkey"; "Victor Durel, whose wife often went to the small tavern to find him, and he was dragged away after two or three hours, but eventually, his wife also developed a drinking problem like him." These characters alone are enough to support the author's humble description of this "small book," but they are merely a part of the novel. There are various stories and intertwined clues in this grey world. Amidst this grey, the beautiful flower of love blooms, the separation of the sun-like female teacher and the army corporal, the prosecutor's secret love for the female teacher, and the narrator's "I" profound love for his deceased wife. However, in this grey realm, the "Tricolor Flower," a ten-year-old girl, is about to bloom when it is cut off. The radiant female teacher, who is as beautiful as flowers, also withers away after a short time, leaving only the waterweed with long hair swaying in the river unchanged over time. After finishing this work, the author discovered that it is multi-layered: "It's both a social novel and a historical novel, a detective novel, and a romance novel, even a novel about the power of writing. Almost everything is there, perhaps precisely for this reason, that it has won readers' favor. Everyone can find something they like in the book."