Réparateur de destin par Cyrille Fleischman (review)

où se trouvent la force et l’originalité de l’écrivaine dans la narration d’un sujet si sensible. California State University, Long Beach Najib Redouane FLEISCHMAN, CYRILLE. Réparateur de destin. Paris: Fayard, 2010. ISBN 978-2-213-65436-2. Pp. 152. 13,50 a. Cyrille Fleischman, winner of the 2002 Max Cukierman Prize for his literary contribution to the promotion of Yiddish culture, demonstrates his expertise through the thirteen stories comprising his most recent work. Each story recounts its protagonist’s dissatisfaction with fate and his or her efforts to rectify this incongruity . Fleischman’s use of understatement, irony, and cultural particularities emphasizes the milieu of Parisian Ashkenazi Jews while underscoring the universality of the situations depicted. In “Sur la terrasse de la Samaritaine et ailleurs,” for example, overly frugal Mr. Eisenblic has resigned himself to spending his summer vacation on the rooftop terrace of La Samaritaine department store; there, he can enjoy the sunshine and open air for free, even though it means disappointing his wife by not taking her to the beach resort of Néris-les-Bains in September. He is satisfied with his plan until a friend of his wife’s occupies “his” table on the rooftop. As she asks him to reconsider accompanying his wife and two female friends, Mr. Eisenblic becomes intrigued by that possibility. During their conversation he realizes how young-looking, attractive, and well-perfumed she is, and he walks her home part of the way. This leads him to speculate about the third woman in the group as he seriously entertains thoughts of leaving on vacation with the three women. If the first story pokes fun at being overly thrifty and set in one’s ways, “L’avis du docteur Artzig” demonstrates the wisdom of letting a problem resolve itself. When Dr. Artzig finds his two neighbors arguing about the volume of the radio that one of them plays, he invites them into his apartment for a “schnaps” so they can listen to his favorite Yiddish singer. Neither neighbor wants to stop at the doctor’s. As he insists, they lose their momentum for fighting. When they turn down the invitation and leave, he laughs because he has defused their argument by doing nothing. The message here is universal: knowing when to keep silent is as important as knowing when to speak. Besides its commentaries on human behavior, Réparateur de destin denotes a specific Parisian Ashkenazi Jewish milieu. Numerous references to La Samaritaine, la rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, the subway station Châtelet, le boulevard Sébastopol, la place de la République, and the Bagneux Cemetery designate this cultural group’s neighborhood. Other details, such as the newspaper Unzer wort in Yiddish and such terms as “schlémil” (66) and “‘houtzpah” (94)—no French translation would do these connotations justice— demonstrate the exotic aspect of these stories. Furthermore, even the Yiddish names of the characters exemplify the narrator’s tongue-in cheek attitude towards them. The expression, “le docteur Artzig,” for instance, alludes to the “doctorly” doctor. Mr. Eisenblic (“wink”) changes his opinion instantaneously about going on vacation with his wife and her friends. Similarly, “Sender Aufzug” in Réparateur de destin climbs socially from poverty to riches. The German word “Aufzug,” meaning “elevator” in English, aptly describes the protagonist’s upward economic progress. Fleischman thus acquaints the reader with cultural specifics about the Reviews 213 Ashkenazi Parisians: he shares their language, newspaper, and daily parameters. His true talent, however, lies in his ability to make his characters universal despite their specificity. The impressionable Mr. Eisenblic’s physical attraction for his wife’s friend amuses the reader: a pretty woman will turn any man’s head no matter how indifferent he thinks he is. Likewise, the purposely reticent Dr. Artzig, and the socially mobile Sender Aufzug, in light of their desire to improve their interpersonal relationships and economic standing, respectively, could be any man indeed. University of Texas, El Paso Jane E. Evans FOURNIER, JEAN-LOUIS. Poète et paysan. Paris: Stock, 2010. ISBN 978-2-234-06324-2. Pp. 155. 15,50 a. Humoriste, écrivain et réalisateur de télévision, Jean-Louis Fournier...