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At 40, the great boxer Max Le Corre was enjoying a renaissance, back at the top of the ticket after a long absence. When he wasn’t in the ring, he worked as a driver for the mayor, Quentin Le Bars. Above all, he was a father to Laura, his 20-year-old daughter who recently returned home after trying her hand at modeling.
Quentin had helped Max when he was down on his luck, a seemingly washed-up fighter, and now Max hoped he would help Laura find her bearings in town. But Laura’s meeting with Quentin reveals a darker side to the politician, setting in motion a chain of events that will pit Max against his benefactor.
With deceptively simple, evocative prose, Tanguy Viel has crafted a brilliant takedown of the power imbalances that allow #MeToo situations to occur and fester.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 19, 2024 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781635423266
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781635423266
- File size: 8197 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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March 8, 2024
French author Viel's fifth novel is a cautionary tale that follows a bleak and timeworn arc. In an unnamed, generic French town, a few corrupt men stockpile power with bemused entitlement. Former champion boxer Max Le Corre is now reduced to serving as the mayor's chauffeur, but he's planning a comeback. Max's daughter, Laura, has also just returned to town, needing a job and housing. Max petitions his boss for help, unwittingly igniting an abusive and exploitative opportunity for the unethical mayor. A sense of hopeless foreboding deepens as the mayor's sexual demands intensify and the boxer slowly realizes his role in his daughter's debasement. Viel's archetypal characters serve as either passive non-participants or manipulative orchestrators who rationalize their actions to absolve themselves of personal responsibility and prevent any possible reformation. A late entry to the #MeToo movement, Laura's story stands as a familiar condemnation of trenchant misogyny and power imbalance. Viel's rendering is detached and pitiless, building to an ending that is as cynical as it is predictable.COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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