Amour Dure Trois ANS [French]

Beigbeder's novel is about a naughty playboy who cheats on his wife, is rejected by his mistress, and finds little solace in the (group) sex, (party) drugs, and techno music of his incredibly hip Parisian crowd. Quel dommage, baby. This barely fictionalized hero would be reason enough to toss the book with great vigour at the nearest Eurotrash electro DJ, except for one problem: Beigbeder can write. The novel's prose is a mix of the kind of aphorisms about love the French are known for, with a chatty, unapologetically modern way of narrating a story. (For the slang, you may need this: www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/French.html) And I don't know how he does it, but the aphorisms are not only clever, they also ring true. In the end, Beigbeder reveals a bit of earnestness and vulnerability, just the thing to render a hopeless cad charming. His book, too.