The Godmother: A Crime Novel | 
pickA struggling single mother in her 50s is caught between the university expenses for her daughters & the care home costs for her mother in this darkly tongue-in-cheek tale of criminals in contemporary France. #Translation by Stephanie Smee.
She had asked to be cremated with her ashes scattered in a department store. The girls & I carried out her final wishes, selecting the Galeries Lafayette. I chose to scatter my share through the boutiques of her favourite designers. If you happened to find a bit of grey dust or some strange little bits of matter at the bottom of your Dior, Nina Ricci or Balenciaga suit pockets from the Spring-Summer 2017 collection—that was my mother.
And while I had plenty of faults, he had one big one: he believed in God. Philippe, this man who was integrity personified, intelligent, cultured and witty… believed in God! It just seems so unlikely that anybody could give any credibility to such a load of rubbish. He could have confided in me a belief that our fate as humans was predetermined by a dish of celestial noodles and I wouldn‘t have found it less ridiculous.
My father, good colonial that he was, had taught me at the same age he himself had learned, that‘s to say, at the age of 10. I still remembered the recoil ripping into my shoulder as he made me shoot, over & over, until I could absorb the shock with my body. So when my parents went out to a restaurant, they could leave me alone between the motorway & the forest with the revolver on the bedside table & not waste a moment worrying about ⬇️
She was neither crazy nor completely blasé, and since she expected absolutely nothing from life, none of her hopes had ever been dashed. As a young woman, her one hope had been that she wouldn‘t be killed.
I adore old things: they‘ve witnessed the lives of so many people and you never get tired of looking at them, the way you do with new things.
It‘s remembering details like this which makes me realize that even in the depths of my grief, I‘ve always been open to positive ideas. I‘ve never felt desperate enough to contemplate suicide; for that you need a spiritual strength I‘ve just never had.
so-soInteresting story - not very familiar with French literature. Some aspects regarding race and ethnicity however seemed problematic in my view
pickWell worth the long library holds queue for this tale of a French/Arabic translator who goes quite a bit further than just translating when she works out the location of a major drugs shipment before the police... and decides she‘s overdue for a pension/retirement savings...
pickThis got me out of the year end doldrums! Hilariously matter of fact tale of a mid-fifties Parisian police wiretap translator/transcriber who lifts herself out of dire financial straits by brilliantly conning drug dealers to become the Godmother. Deserves every prize awarded; great affirmation of taking charge of your life.
pickA French Godmother, what‘s not to like? Add in a retired drug dog and some “bad guys” and you got an award winning French crime novel.
pickThis was fun! It had everything a crime novel usually excludes - an hilariously resourceful middle aged woman as the protagonist and life in the suburbs. Both of which are used brilliantly to share an understanding of the criminal underworld linked to immigrant and drug smuggling. It was fresh, intelligent and I was rooting for her to succeed!
so-soWhat struck me was the subtly—it was clever without being trite or predictable. What Cayre makes up for with ingenuity, she alienates with the slightly formal tone and quirkiness. The story was well executed, however, at times was rather dark and twisty. Readers are taken to the underbelly of Paris—forget the glamour of the City of Lights, this is the drug infested underground. It took several attempts to get into it, but once I did, I enjoyed it.
Another train ride and another new book to read! An impulse purchase yesterday from Mr Bs Book Emporium. It was a staff pick so fingers crossed!
pickOMG....this was such a good crime story. It definitely deserved the awards its won. Told through the eyes of the protagonist, The Godmother with the sarcasm, wit and candor of a woman in her mid 50s pulling off the biggest heist ever, and never being caught......this is an independent Canadian publisher, I want more!!
#teamslaughter #scarathon @Clwojick #24B4Monday
Next up on my #24B4Monday
This French Crime novel looks good....art traffickers, dealers, police officers, politicians and crime...this won the European Crime Fiction Prize and the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere......
#teamslaughter #scarathon @Clwojick
