Mademoiselle Liberte (Folio) (French Edition) [French]

Looking for a novel in Nice last week, I came across this book by Alexandre Jardin, a writer I had not previously read. What a great surprise! His use of language is so clever and lateral-thinking. Usually I would read an average French novel without the use of a dictionary, but Jardin revels in using obscure vocabulary, turning nouns into verbs. Gradually you get into his mind set. I did not find his characters "sympathiques" but they are riveting and they take us beyond the prosaic world of the teacher-pupil relationship. How would a head teacher react to a beautiful 17 year old who comes to babysit and wears nothing under her red duffelcoat (not even shoes), and swears she will only eat food that has been touched by his lips. As I write, I make the story sound cheap. There is no way to provide a precis of a tale that takes us beyond the limits of our imagination. I don't know if this book has been translated from French. What a task that would be. This use of language is unique and I hope all you francophones out there will order it now.