The Book Bump

First Published: 2015
Author: Virginie Despentes
Book number: 1 of 3
Original Language: French
Reading Language: French
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 3/5

Vernon Subutex owned an infamous music shop in Paris, Revolver. He is quite a legend among the rock and roll crowd of the capital. Life seems to shine on him, or at least until the arrival of the Internet and the decline of CD and vinyl sales.  

In the 2000s, Vernon finds himself confronted with the closure of his beloved shop, the death of his closest friends, including rock star Alex Bleach, who often paid his rent, the end of his benefits… This is his tale of survival in a world of couch-surfing, booze, drugs, sex, and homelessness.

This book is quite something.

Having read Despentes King Kong Theorie, I knew the author’s style was crude. But I suppose I wasn’t quite prepared for just how foul the language is.  

Having said that, the language feels appropriate for the themes and topics this novel delves into (drugs, alcoholism, the sex industry, the film industry, homelessness…). The characters wouldn’t feel as real if the language was “cleaner”.

I guess Vernon Subutex is the protagonist, although he is non-existent for a large chunk of the novel. But then, he is a legend, a myth. He could be anyone, everyone.

He’s a bit of an anti-hero. But you can’t help but like him. He’s a goof, but he’s likeable. He is down on his luck but remains optimistic. He seems almost oblivious to what’s happening around him. As a reader, you can’t help but root for him. You hope he’ll find a way out of his slump.

Along the way, Despentes introduces an array of characters, all acquaintances of Vernon from his days owning Revolver. There is a wealthy banker, a divorcee who lost her son to drugs, an unsuccessful film director who married a rich heiress, a wifebeater, a porn star, the daughter of a porn star, a beggar mourning her dog, a lonely woman desperate for love, a transgender model, and many more.

With each character, Despentes flawlessly switches between perspectives. As a reader, you are immersed in each of the characters’ heads and confronted with their thoughts, however aberrant they may be. I believe it takes guts to write with conviction some of the characters that Despentes did—a wifebeater trying to justify why he beats his wife and racist middle-class Parisians who blame immigrants for their troubles, to name a few.

It must be said, however, that most of the characters are clichés of the socio-economic class that they represent.  

Despentes also has an exciting style. The story, the fact that Vernon Subutex has in his possession videos of Alex Bleach’s auto-interview (for lack of a better word) only days before his death, isn’t the focus of most of the narrative.

The narrative is more about side stories, introducing different characters who may or may not be important in the grander scheme. I imagine the story will become more apparent as you read the second and third novels.

After finishing Vernon Subutex I, I was very tempted to pick up the second novel in the series. And that’s not something that’s happened in a long time. I usually find it hard to read a novel series back-to-back, but I was so engrossed in the lives of all the characters that I nearly started Vernon Subutex II straight away.