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Loading... Underground Time (2009)by Delphine de Vigan
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Not what I expected. I loved 'No and Me' but this book was not at all as beautiful to me. It followed two characters having a very bad day and for many many pages I was waiting for them to meet. I wondered what would happen when they did meet and how it would change their attitude to their life/day but I never really got to find out... nothing changed by the end. really a disappointment after 'No and me' was one of my favourite reads of last year. Not what I expected. I loved 'No and Me' but this book was not at all as beautiful to me. It followed two characters having a very bad day and for many many pages I was waiting for them to meet. I wondered what would happen when they did meet and how it would change their attitude to their life/day but I never really got to find out... nothing changed by the end. really a disappointment after 'No and me' was one of my favourite reads of last year. Two separate stories run through this novel - one a highly original and gripping account of a hard-working single mother who finds herself frozen out at work by a vengeful boss , the other a rather nebulous tale about a mobile doctor who has just split up with his girlfriend and is feeling sad about it. Of the two, I much preferred the first, which was quite staggering in its portrayal of office politics at their very worst. The second left me entirely cold. The author includes a lot of musing about working relationships and loneliness, and what they say about the world at large - most of which sailed over my head I'm afraid - and I suppose there was an expectation that the two stories would intersect by the end of the novel, but really all I remember having finished was the outrage I felt on Mathilde's behalf at the atrocious behaviour of her boss, and on that level the novel was entirely successful. Interesting having two main characters - liked the female perspective but not the male one, always anxious to get back to her story (similar to how I feel with Game of Thrones which also has different viewpoints), possibly exaggerated by the fact that the two stories do not seem to relate, subject a bit depressing but readable as a one-off
It may not be the intention, but these two strangers feel far from lost causes as they crisscross Paris over 24 hours, contemplating their limited options. Yes, in an ideal world fate would bring them together and they would save each other. That it doesn't happen is irksome, to say the least. But as this elegantly constructed, sympathetic, compelling, enjoyable novel draws to a close, you would be hard pressed to think these two are going under. Delphine de Vigan is a sensation I read this book with increasing admiration foe Delphine de Vigan's elegant writing style; her astute observations; her perceptive grasp of the complexity of human nature; the vivid backdrop of Paris in all its moods; and the compelling story of the erosion of a poised and confident woman What's most startling about this novel is how de Vigan makes the mundane come alive. She's an expert in detail, charging even the most ordinary situation with emotion, which makes for a massively affecting read Sympathetic, compelling, enjoyable Belongs to Publisher SeriesSvětová knihovna (Odeon)
"Everyday Mathilde takes the Metro, then the commuter train to the office of a large multi-national where she works in the marketing department. Every day, the same routine, the same trains. But something happened a while ago - she dared to voice a different opinion from her moody boss, Jacques. Bit by bit she finds herself frozen out of everything, with no work to do. Thibault is a paramedic. Every day he drives to the addresses he receives from his controller. The city spares him no grief: traffic jams, elusive parking spaces, delivery trucks blocking his route. He is well aware that he may be the only human being many of the people he visits will see for the entire day and is well acquainted with the symptomatic illnesses, the major disasters, the hustle and bustle and, of course, the immense, pervading loneliness of the city. Before one day in May, Mathilde and Thibault had never met. They were just two anonymous figures in a crowd, pushed and shoved and pressured continuously by the loveless, urban world. Underground Time is a novel of quiet violence - the violence of office-bullying, the violence of the brutality of the city - in which our two characters move towards an inevitable meeting"-- No library descriptions found.
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LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumDelphine de Vigan's book Underground Time was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.92Literature French and related languages French fiction Modern Period 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Delphine de Vigans Roman ist im Original bereits 2009 erschienen und stand im selben Jahr in der letzten Runde um den Prix Goncourt. Auch die Verfilmung aus dem Jahr 2015 wurde positiv aufgenommen und mit mehreren Preisen ausgezeichnet. Die Autorin fängt in ihrer Geschichte das typische Pariser Großstadtleben ein: métro, boulot, dodo. Die beiden Protagonisten sind lange im öffentlichen Raum unterwegs, ohne dort jedoch die Menschen um sich wirklich wahrzunehmen und werden dabei selbst ebenso unsichtbar; die Arbeit nimmt nicht nur den Großteil des Tages, sondern auch der Emotionen und Gedanken ein; das Privatleben kommt chronisch zu kurz, weshalb Beziehungen kaum gepflegt und notwendige Entscheidungen immer wieder verschoben werden.
Neben der Frage, wann bzw. ob Mathilde und Thibault sich begegnen, steht vor allem der Konflikt zwischen Mathilde und ihrem Vorgesetzten Jacques im Fokus der Handlung. Aus für sie nicht nachvollziehbaren Gründen hat er sie im Laufe der vergangenen Monate isoliert, immer mehr Verantwortung anderen übertragen und sie systematisch vom Kommunikationsfluss abgeschnitten. Es ist Mobbing der schlimmsten Art, was er betreibt und die Folgen zeigen sich bei Mathilde: sie ist erschöpft, schläft nicht mehr und schon der Gedanke an die Arbeit bereitet ihr Unwohlsein. Die Personalchefin ist keine Hilfe, die Kollegen haben selbst zu viel Sorge um ihren Job als dass sie ihr zur Seite stehen würden und Jacques verweigert jedes Gespräch, so dass der Grund für sein Verhalten im Dunkeln bleibt.
Thibault wiederum hatte sich bewusst gegen das Dasein als Hausarzt entschieden und doch trifft er manche Patienten, die die Notfallnummer wählen, immer wieder. Es sind die Einsamen, die Alten, für die der Besuch des Arztes oft ihr einziger menschlicher Kontakt ist. Auch das sind Abgründe der Stadt, vor denen gerne die Augen verschlossen werden, weil sie niemand sehen möchte. So sehr er seinen Beruf liebt, diese Begegnungen laugen ihn aus.
Die Handlung oszilliert zwischen den beiden und je näher man ihnen kommt, desto mehr wünscht man ihnen, dass die einsamen Seelen sich treffen und finden und die Leere des jeweils anderen füllen können. Authentisch und überzeugend fängt Delphine de Vigan die Einsamkeit unter Millionen von Menschen ein, sie schildert ein Leben, in dem die Menschen funktionieren und gar nicht die Zeit finden, ihr Dasein und den Sinn ihres Lebenskonstrukts zu hinterfragen. Der Großstadtlärm übertönt diese Fragen und ebenso die kaum hörbar leise schlagenden einsamen Herzen. ( )