Auriane Velten

I had great expectations after having read various positive reviews a little after the book was published. The blurb looks fantastic, inviting, and it's the kind of story that one could use in this day and age.

'After' is under 300 pages long (or short), but that shouldn't be much of a problem in general. Well, it is here, as much context or explanation is missing to make the story more coherent, more appreciable, more exciting. At least to me.

We're in Paris, France, about 3000 years later than today. Yes, another story set in Paris, despite the size of France, its many cities, its very rich history. Mind you, Paris also has a rich history, no doubt about that. However, Ms Velten gave the setting an original touch (in my opinion), as she constructed it around the famous Louvre museum. I've never visited it, should probably do so one of these... years. I have been to Château de Fontainebleau a few years ago, can certainly recommend it. The Louvre is thus the focal point, not just its construction, but also and especially its collections or what is left of them.

So anyway, we're 3000 years in the future, the world is no more, a lot of knowledge and history has vanished. There was a cataclysm, destroying all life on Earth: on land, in the water, plants and animals. Only a handful of people survived, thanks to an invention of special suits/exoskeletons/holograms, made by a company called...? After. Correct. This group is led by a trio: Claude, Alex, and Dom, who's the general chief. There's also a Dogma by which the group swears and lives, in that all are equal, that the Dogma is always right, and more of such theorems. There is no place for critical thinking, in other words. At some point, though, one girl does begin to question some things, especially if she's sent out by the leading Trinity (so to speak) to find out about the history of mankind. But, to ensure she stays on the "right" path, she's given a guardian: Paule.

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On a side-note, she is not a "she", neither is Paule. Well, they both are female, as there's a scene where both characters, whilst having an argument, tell their personal history, where they come from, how they experience life in the tribe. The book is full of inclusive writing. No "il", "elle", "ils", "elles", "eux", and so on. Inclusive means here: "ile", "illes", "eulx", "elui", and so on. It's easier in English: "they", but there are exceptions like "xe", "yre", ... I understand why it appeared a few years ago, but now I feel less inclined to use it, as it's more confusing than helpful (it's not just pronouns, but also adjectives, verbs, ... that need to be modified, at least in French). Especially when the entire book is filled with it AND the author not being consistent: several adjectives and verbs were not correctly modified to match the inclusive writing.

While I like the style of writing, which also allowed or a smooth reading - except for the confusing inclusive writing -, Ms Velten also played with the French language, modifying articles and sounds in an attempt to guess how French will evolve in the future. Examples: un = an, mon = man, le/la = al (curiously enough, l' is not changed into al), ... It's good to think about a possible evolution of a language, and the "an" sound has been in use for several years, especially in the word "non", or, "nan", in colloquial language. The same goes for "oui" and its variants "ouais" and "ouep".

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Back to the story. So, Cam(ille) and Paule are sent out on an investigation and do find the remnants of the Louvre and various pieces of the collections. They also find an underground facility that stores important parts of human history, particularly that of the tribe's members and its founders. A little intrigue is never far off in egalitarian/communistic (or similar, for that matter) societies, is it? Mind you, this has not been easy, as Paule was even more a follower of and a believer in the Dogma and instructed to not let Cam take the examinations to far. They were to report back to the Trinity whenever something valuable (a document or another artefact, for example) - or rather, detrimental to the tribe and its organisation - was discovered. Like... the Bible, for instance. And so, one thing leads to another. Like a child that was forbidden to do something, Cam perseveres in her (personal) quest to find out more about how this all came to be (yet still appeals to the Dogma when needed - indoctrination is hard to undo), and fortunately manages to convince Paule. Little by little, the smoke and mirrors would evaporate, be blown to pieces.

The chapters shift in focus between Cam and Paule, so you get to follow the events through different perspectives. This is also a good way to maintain focus, to understand what the characters are going through.

Long story short: I liked the premise, the blurb, and some ideas the author used. The story tries to show what makes us human, where we come from, that history and memories are important to know oneself, to understand the world, to not blindly accept authority, to have critical thinking (and not be a gullible person), ... But on a whole, the book is not complete. It feels like half was cut out or left out.

Who are the people of the tribe? How do they live? Where to they grow/find their food?
If not for the holograms, how do they clothe?
Where do their batteries (for their suits/holograms) come from?
How was the cataclysm set up? By whom? For what reason?
If all life was wiped out, how come one baobab tree survived?
What is this Dogma really? What are its rules?

There might be a sequel of some sorts in the future, although nothing's sure about that. Or perhaps a revised edition that provides more context and explanation?

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For those interested, see this interview with Ms Velten.
All in all, good ideas in this story, but a lot of frustration during the reading.… (més)