Missing Person (Verba Mundi Book) Paperback – March 11, 2005

The story of Pablo wraps itself around the character finding what happened to him and Denise while fleeing France. The story makes revelations that do not tie to any events, as written in the book. It is as though chapters of the book are missing or the translation Is very poor and misses they key clues that unravel the misters. I never got there for meAfter reading his Nobel Prize speech I got a better insight into his approach…here it isProust’s memory causes the past to reappear in all its detail, like a tableau vivant...Today, I get the sense that memory is much less sure of itself, engaged as it is in a constant struggle against amnesia and oblivion. This layer, this mass of oblivion that obscures everything, means we can only pick up fragments of the past, disconnected traces, fleeting and almost ungraspable human destinies... Yet it has to be the vocation of the novelist, when faced with this large blank page of oblivion, to make a few faded words visible again, like lost icebergs adrift on the surface of the ocean.This brings insight into the story…when faced this large blank page of oblivion, to make a few words visible again, like lost icebergs adrift….

Like a black & white mystery movie from the 1940s, this novel gives that kind of vibe. Creepy, noir-like. But, there is no "bad guy" or femme fatale or treasure being sought-- just a man's search for his identity, because he is innately curious as to who he really is (having lost his memory years ago). This is a short novel, but it is a complex one. There are periodic shifts in time and in narrator, without warning (making the reader "work at" following what is going on). And there is an inordinate amount of detail regarding Parisian street names, addresses, etc. This aspect does not make for difficult reading (as you can basically ignore the details, though I am sure they are accurate). But, it does give the novel a certain reality, sort of blending fiction and non-fiction.The search for identity is very convoluted and like a maze. Slight bits of information lead to more bits, sometimes contradicting the previous bits. The central character at one point does, in fact, visit a maze. Bits and pieces of a former life blink into his memory, and he tries to make sense of them. The feeling of "deja vu" is alluded to. He turns a light switch on and off, which triggers a memory of having done this before, and brings up memories. He mentions "traceless beings" who spring up out of nothing, then vanish ("the beachman"). The idea of a person (you or me) appearing in hundreds of anonymous other peoples' photos -- and these anonymous people look at these photos at home, and wondering to themselves: "Who is that guy in the background of the photo? I wonder whatever became of him?" That basic idea is what is conveyed in this novel-- the proof of your existence is spread out over hundreds of other insignificant people's photos and memories and stories and interactions. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct your identity from these bits and pieces. I think the last line of the novel refers to this idea: "...do not our lives dissolve into the evening..?."This is a very interesting novel, keeps the reader wanting to know what clues will come next. But, in the end, there is no "big reveal". This may be the point of the novel, but for someone expecting a grand "ahaa" moment, it never comes. This is a noir mystery with philosophical overtones -- not a traditional "who-dunit" mystery. Some people would give it 5 stars because of this deeper meaning. I give it 4 stars, as I would have appreciated a bit more of conclusion (though I can understand the author's reluctance to do so).

Patrick Modiano, as you may recall, was the most recent Nobel Prize winner (2014), though what that means, if anything, is hard to say. It is difficult for me to go into a book whose author is a Nobel winner without half-formed, amorphous ideas about what kind of quality that should represent--for myself (even though I shouldn't), I can't help but think of the Nobel as the acme of awards, and therefore have expectations about any particular example of the author's work that are unrealistic. Basically, I'm expecting to have my socks knocked off--though I doubt I can even describe what that kind of book would look like.MISSING PERSON is good--I liked it, though my socks were still snuggled against my feet when I was through. However, it is one of those persnickety books--once finished, it hangs around like dream fragments in the morning. Probably the two highest compliments that I can pay it is that I would like to read some more of Mr. Modiano, and that at some point, I'd like to read MISSING PERSON again. Although the two books share no details in common except the nationality of their authors and a certain tone, I'm reminded of another recent Nobel winner, J.M.G. Le Clezio, whose  The Prospector  also had a dreamy feel to it. Though 'unresolved' may be an accurate way to describe them both, neither felt incomplete, though readers who dislike loose ends might be disappointed.MISSING PERSON is the story of a man whose quest to regain the memory of his past takes him from one end of Paris to the other, teasing out connections and associations, slowly building a picture of his time in occupied France. Eventually, from the evidence he uncovers, and bits of his own memories that return, a semblance of a narrative appears, but it is far from complete by the book's end--nagging questions remain.It seems no great stretch to think that MISSING PERSON, originally written in 1978, could have been Mr. Modiano's attempt at an allegory for France itself--that the country suffered from amnesia when it came to Vichy France. Whether or not it is an effective allegory, I can't say, not being familiar with the attitudes and mindset of the French people at ANY time, let alone the mid-1970's. I CAN say that it is an affecting story regardless of any societal implications--if it is a representation of French attitudes, it is also an individual story. Haunting may be too strong; perhaps moody and atmospheric are better, and the sense of aloneness which permeates the amnesiac also points to the ephemeral nature of all our memories.In the end, I found MISSING PERSON to be a welcome change from the satirical trend in most contemporary novels (if 1978 is still contemporary). It was as if the author is saying that there are still some things we don't know about ourselves, and I found that refreshing.

This is the story of a man who is searching for his identity, and remembering more and more about his past as he follows his leads and unravels the stories of the people he once knew.It’s dreamlike in some ways and incorporates his imaginings of which of the characters he might turn out to be.Translated from the French, but retains the poetic turn of phrase of the original.

Prix Goncourt 1978, Nobel Prize 2014, amongst other distinguished prizes, Patrick Modiano is a popular French author and screen writer best known in the English speaking world for the film Lucien Lacombe he co-wrote with Louis Malle. I read this book for the book club and I was disappointed with its style, however, it could well be the translation of this first English edition; it takes a great author to translate another great author. Various sources record Missing Person as a quasi-detective story and indeed Guy Roland, after he lost his memory, worked in a detective agency and, his experience and contacts, helped him search for clues about his past and his identity. Although it is one of Modiano's earliest novels, he wrote about twenty-six works, I found the writing to be in action style, lacking in descriptive richness and poetry, his observations of character were implicit in the description of his protagonists; in my opinion, they lacked depth. For those reading it as a mystery, the end will come as a disappointment.Having said all of the above, when one takes into account the author's absent and somewhat anonymous father and, the fact that, the occupation of France (Patrick Modiano was born in 1945) together with themes of identity and memory are the main subjects in his writings, then, there may be something purposeful and genial about this short, multi-chapter novel. I, like other readers (see Amazon.com), was left with lingering thereafter thoughts. I hypothesized there could be intent in the form and style in which the plot was written: Missing Person may be intended to make us experience how a person feels when they lose all memory of present and past, of who they are and who they were; those were the symptoms of Guy Roland's amnesia.

This book was not my favourite,read it for my book club

I didn't start to read this. But I like it

謎ときの面白さプラス、不思議な感覚の小説です。英語も優しく、没頭できます。おすすめです。