She has seen everything, she knows everything but she will not say anything. Yet she is like a member of the family but she cannot say anything. It is the Casa des Belasko, the house which shelters the unspoken dramas, the shared joys, the undisclosed secrets. They are five children to find themselves in this residence which sheltered their childhood, three boys, two girls who in six months lost their mother then, more recently their father. It is moreover the latter who asked that they meet in the house to read his last wishes and to discover what he left as testimony. The siblings do not get along and the reunion is strained. This evening does not bode well especially when they realize that they will have no other choice but to spend it together until the end.
Declined in five acts, themselves made up of chapters highlighting one or the other of the children, this camera does not suffer from any downtime and surprises the reader until the epilogue. Chrystel Duchamp has skilfully mixed scenes from the past with those of the present. No need for dates as the situations are clear, we know immediately what time it is. These little flashbacks make it possible to identify the character of each child, to see what links they have built between them. We quickly realize that resentment, jealousy and anger are in them. There is no real unity between them, they watch each other, observe each other, even from a distance since they are all adults and live their lives. And above all, they have not forgotten anything that may have divided them in the past. So it happens that the tongues are loosened and it hurts a lot.
With his lively writing, which makes tilt, the author hardly lets us breathe. Between what is going on in the house and the revelations that are gradually arriving, the reader does not have time to be bored. No frills, action and twists. I found it clever that the novel was not longer. He could have been laid down with other anecdotes from the family past but he would have lost a lot in suspense and tension. Because, let’s be honest, what makes it interesting is the sustained pace that constitutes it. In one night, one evening, the life of the Belasko clan will be irreversibly changed.
The Belasko do not know how to communicate. The father was silent and he did not tell himself, his children ignore many elements of his past. The revelations will hurt some, surprise or destabilize others, but no matter what, no one will come out of this painful family reunion intact. What will be the collateral damage, the consequences of this tumultuous evening?
After a first punchy novel, the author was able to find a new theme and managed the pass of two. His text is captivating, full of energy, the feelings of each other are finely analyzed. It shows the influence of education, the role of parents but also the weight of well-meaning society. An author to follow closely….
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