There is a concern in the Anglophone world that English-speaking readers aren’t reading enough translations. Fewer and fewer books get translated into English each year and those that do, even while receiving critical acclaim, sell less and less. There are micro-trends in fiction translation, such as the boom in Indian fiction we’ve seen over the past decade, but overall, if you’re not one of the superstars, a translation is risky business.
Fred Vargas is, or should now be, one of the superstars. She (for it is a woman author with the masculine name) has written one of the most intriguing mystery novels I’ve read in quite some time. Originally published in France in 1999 as L’HOMME À L’ENVERS, it has been translated by David Bellos into the aptly titled SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.
The Mercantour National Park lies in the provincial southeast of France, home to a pack of wolves that cross over the Alps from Italy on a yearly basis. This year, the wolves seem to get out of hand. Sheep are savaged in the area, killed without being eaten. An investigation reveals that an extremely large wolf has killed the sheep: an abnormal beast – indeed, a monster.
Lawrence Johnstone studies the wolves and takes their side. He is anguished when the populace decides to hunt the wolves down. But the town moves beyond that stage quickly. Soon, there is talk that the attacks are not the work of a wolf, but of a man and wolf hybrid, a werewolf. A local person is implicated, and that person goes missing. And then it’s not just sheep that are being savaged, but humans that fall prey to the slavering teeth.
Vargas is brilliant at creating crazy but completely believable characters like the crude sheep rancher Suzanne Rosselin, and her adopted child, Soliman. They act out their roles with true sincerity, even though you are never likely to meet anyone quite as logically disjointed as Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg, who investigates the case after hearing about it on television, or as stoic and noble as Watchee, the all-knowing shepherd. It is Watchee and Soliman who chase after the werewolf as the beast leaves the southeast and prowls throughout France. They are joined by Camille, who in turn recruits Adamsberg to the cause. On their Incredible Journey to Hunt a Werewolf, Vargas uses the relationships within this group to explore numerous topics, such as otherness, love, respect and community.
And all of this is related in a clipped casual, witty, contemporary style that suits the subject perfectly. A sample quote: “He had heard it said – a few years back – that some wolves from the Abruzzi had crossed the Alps into France. Just a gang of rowdies, in a manner of speaking. Boozers on a night out. A friendly raid, a symbolic return, all hail and welcome to you three motheaten beasts from the Abruzzi. Ciao, fellas.” Or this: “Calling a man you haven’t seen for years – and who is probably under deep cover – to ask him to help you find a werewolf that nobody else believes exists suddenly seemed a risky, not to say clumsy, way to proceed. Bumping into him seemed much more hopeful.”
This isn’t magical realism; it’s more of a gritty magical noir, a quirky, kooky tale that sucks you in and twists you round. Because you can’t believe in werewolves after all, even if the characters that you have come to like so much, seem to do so. Even with the occasional idiomatic oddity in the dialogue, and the tedious wrapup at the end (a distinctly French touch), this book remains a tremendous read, and something a bit different for the avid mystery reader. –Mark Rose
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