Another winner from de Vigan following her intriguing Based on a True Story. a complex and emotional read, that benefits from wit and ambiguity

Was incomplete couldn't read the book the file was corrupted I think. Did enjoy the last book from this author. ..,...

I absolutely loved this book and have already started searching for more by this author. It is a concise and engaging story with brilliant observations of both society and the human condition: "it’s a funny world that lets us pour out anonymous opinions all over the place, ambiguous or extreme, without ever identifying ourselves."

I loved the ambiguous nature of the book, how pared back it was, just spreading the story bare without sentiment or pathos. The book deals with harrowing subject matter, but does it in a unsensationalist way. You feel each individual characters pain and tribulations.

I loved the storyline of the husband with an offensive online persona... Such a contemporary concept and very thought provoking.

I felt the ending was right for the book and in keeping with the style of the rest of the book, but I didn't want it end! I am left thinking about the characters, wondering about their futures. I wish there was more to read.

Loyalties, or Les Loyautés in French, is award-winning author Delphine de Vigan's latest novel to be translated into English. It started off promisingly enough but soon became a strain to read as everything was a little disjointed, and the constant need to try to keep engaged with the novel left me cold and somewhat irked. Important modern issues are treated very lightly and effectively glossed over; I was rather shocked by this given the author's usual treatment of controversial topics. Moral content is top of the list for why I enjoy DdV's work so much, but, here, I felt there were far too many cliched statements made, and that resulted in me losing whatever interest I had left. And the conclusion also leaves a lot to be desired; this is far from her best work.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for an ARC.

I enjoyed this book although it reminded me of french films which have several different storylines that are tenuously linked but are in fact just separate stories. It was an interesting read.

An intriguing story about parents, children and their teacher. Nothing is what you expect in Loyalties and de Vigan gently weaves the lives of her characters together to build the tension. The shifting point-of-view provides emotional context to the startling events that unfold.

3/5 If you enjoyed The Dinner by Herman Koch or the movie, Carnage by Roman Polanski, I reckon you’ll like Loyalties.

I received my copy of Loyalties from the publisher, Bloomsbury, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Two thirteen-year old boys are getting drunk on an almost daily basis and only one parent notices. But she is not alone in her observations. Their teacher, Hélène, senses an alteration in one the duo's character. Theo is still a teen and yet appears sleep-deprived and world-weary, leading to the only obvious conclusion Hélène's mind can conjure. Whether it is correct remains to be seen but she will do whatever is in her power to save this boy from the downward spiral he seems intent on flinging himself towards.

I appreciated the variety of perspectives that were used to tell this tale. The reader becomes privy to the mysteries plaguing each character early on and it allows this to be read like less of a thriller and more of a chilling character study. The events continue to unfold in no less of a dramatic fashion however, only now heartbreak mingles within the drama.

This brought to mind another recent favourite of mine, Leila Slimani's Lullaby. Both deftly create a bleak story line that is mirrored by the scarcity of the words used to tell it, and still allows for the reader to become haunted by the unfurling of events for far longer than it takes to read it.

I could not decide what I thought of this quite bleak book as I finished it today - I felt compelled to read it all but did not know what to think once it was completed. The themes dealt with were all hard - family breakdown, abuse, alcoholism, depression, resentment, the dark side of the internet and the issue of loyalties - to family members, to friends? All this revolved around two teenage boys trying to grow up and deal with difficult family situations. One takes to alcohol to help him to cope - he seeks oblivion. The adults around him seem unable or unwilling to help. You are left unsure at the end whether help comes in time. The adults are each dealing with their own demons as well.

A hard read -I will recommend it with care.

I loved this novel. Partly it’s thanks to the beautiful translation by George Miller, but obviously the original comes from Delphine de Vigan, the language sharp with pained interiority. My copy was a promotional ebook and despite the mistakes of formatting (so often the case with these early promotional releases) I knew when each character was speaking and heard their individual worries and concerns in tones particular to each.

Loyalties is about a young boy, Théo, and the people around him. We hear his voice and those of his friend Mathis, his teacher Hélène, and Mathis’s mother Cécile. Unsurprisingly they are all struggling with divided loyalties.

Théo’s parents are separated. They do not speak to each other. Théo spends alternate weeks with each parent, travelling on his own between the two homes. His mother is consumed by her anger for his father and refuses to even acknowledge Théo until he has put all his clothes in the wash and had a shower. His father is collapsing under a terrible depression that ties him to his bed and leaves him with a dirty flat, very little money and hardly any food. Théo protects him from his mother, his friends, anyone who might see the devastation and act accordingly.

His escape from the weight of this responsibility and loyalty he feels to both parents, is alcohol. He hides with Mathis behind a cupboard in the school and drinks to ease his suffering.

Hélène had her own problems as a child. She recognises something is wrong with Théo but struggles to get anyone to believe her or to help find out what is happening to him. Stepping beyond the boundaries of her role as teacher forces her to question what most deserves her loyalty: her profession or the child?

Cécile worries for her son. She doesn’t want him associating with Théo, but she also has her own problems. She discovers something about her husband that puts her sacrifices for him in question and challenges her loyalties. Should her love and trust be towards her husband or her family, despite their lower social class and the lingering shame of her father’s own drinking problem (though he has long since been dead)?

Then there is Mathis. He is afraid of his friend’s obsession with alcohol, but he is also afraid of disobeying his mother. Who most deserves his loyalty?

The exploration of each character has beauty and depth, matching adult problems against the intensity of adolescent friendship to create a novel seething with rage against a society so keen to keep personal problems below the surface. Loyalties is a mesmerising novel that has all the philosophical and thematic delights of European fiction. Where are the English novels like this? If anyone can think of any, please let me know. Loyalties makes me want to buy all of Delphine de Vigan’s previous work. If this sounds like your sort of novel, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way too. Out in January 2019, this is at the top of my list of recommended reads for next year.

Sad, sad stories here. Several characters, all suffering one way or another, centring on 12-year-old Theo whose situation is the most affecting. His parents have divorced, but remain acrimonious, shuttling him to and fro between them week by week without communicating or allowing Theo to mention the other and what goes on in the other’s home. Theo has borne this burden for much of his young life and begins to take solace in the numbing effects of alcohol, abetted more and more reluctantly by his schoolfriend Mathis. Neither parent notices. But his teacher does and attempts to intervene. She, however, is still haunted by her own childhood experiences. The other main strand to the story concerns Mathis’ mother - her increasing alienation from her husband and disconnection from Mathis’ daily life.

The book’s title says it all. Children would not understand at first that their parents had problems of their own and a partner in a long-standing marriage can be surprised to find out something they didn’t know about their spouse. When they do, though, as Theo and Cecile do, the tendency is not to complain but to stay loyal to what they know, don’t talk about it but assimilate it into their own ‘normality’. Who could fail to find this thought-provoking when applied to their own experience, even in the slightest way?

A short novel, perhaps the more hard-hitting for being so concise and to the point. Not as unremittingly depressing as it sounds - just.

12-year-old Théo's parents have joint custody, and both treat him terribly: his mother is emotionally abusive and manipulative; his father lives in squalor and neglects his son entirely. As a result, Théo has become addicted to the numbing effects of alcohol. This hasn't escaped the notice of his teacher Hélène, who – herself the victim of an abusive father – is desperately concerned for him. Théo has got his best friend Mathis hooked on drinking too, and when his mother Cécile finds out, she's more convinced than ever that Théo is a bad seed, a corrupting influence. But she is also struggling with a discovery about her husband, something awful that's altered her view of him forever.

I think Loyalties might appeal to those who liked Leïla Slimani's Lullaby. It's an intelligent domestic drama which presents a view of parenthood that's both recognisable (nobody knows what they're doing!) and terrifying (... nobody knows what they're doing). The title refers to the idea that loyalty within families, something that's often seen as positive, can be incredibly damaging. The theme is summed up by a line from Hélène: 'I know that children protect their parents and that the pact of silence sometimes leads to their deaths.'

This is a story about choices and their consequences. Théo shoulders the impossible responsibility of protecting his parents from each other (this burden is most effectively underlined by a brief chapter made up solely of the demands Théo has to remember – don't tell mum this, don't tell dad that...) Cécile must decide whether keeping her family together is more important than her feelings about William's secret. Mathis's friendship with Théo tests his loyalty to his parents. And ultimately, to help Théo as she really wants to, Hélène is unable to maintain the professional distance that is required of her as a teacher.

While I didn't enjoy Loyalties as I did de Vigan's Based on a True Story – a stunning existential/philosophical thriller – there is much to recommend it. This short novel is powerful and poignant, downbeat with just enough hope to keep it from being relentlessly bleak. It's the sort of story likely to leave the reader considering their own relationships, the good or bad their own 'loyalties' might have brought into their lives.

As soon as I saw this Delphine de Vigan book on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it. Earlier in the year I read and reviewed her novel Based On A True Story which I really enjoyed. She is a french novelist and her books are translated into English. 

This novel has a very different feel to Based On A True Story, which was a psychological thriller. Loyalties is more of a character study, focussing on parent and children realtionships also the relationships children and parents have with teachers; however it is still written in De Vigan's beautiful lyrical style, her writing really draws you in as a reader and keeps you gripped. 

Loyalties has quite a few characters throughout the story. I felt like the main character was Theo a young and troubled 12 year old boy who has taken up drinking alcohol as a way to forget and numb the pain of his broken family life. His parents got divorced a few years ago and neither of his parents speak to each other. He goes to and from his parents week to week and it is really affecting his mental health. As the novel goes on you find out more about his father who is clearly depressed and can see why Theo turns to alcohol not just for fun but to forget things. 

He has a close friend at school Mathias, who joins in drinking with Theo, but in Mathias' case his parents are more concerned, notice his changing behaviour and try to stop him. 

Helene is the boys teacher, she had a trouble childhood and can sense something is not quite right with Theo. She tries to intervene but where her loyalties lie as a teacher is she allowed to cross the boundary to help a child struggling? 

You also get the perspectives of Mathias' mother Ceceile, who not only is concerned for her son but has found something in her husband William's study and is obsessing over it. She goes to therapy so is clearly not mentally stable. She loves her husband but is not sure wether she should tell him what she found whilst snooping. Does she want to break her family apart over this? 

For a short novel there are a lot of characters with different opinions and issues, however the way De Vigan writes this short book, I didn't find it confusing at all. Everything interwove perfectly and I liked that every character had some kind of secret that they didn't want to share, because of their "loyalties" to their friend, partners, job. I found it interesting how far Theo would go to protect his father, he didn't want to upset his mother by telling her about him and he didn't want his father to get worse or get into trouble, he really was stuck between them. This is summed up really well by a line from Hélène: "I know that children protect their parents and that the pact of silence sometimes leads to their deaths."

Reading this novel I could see how easy it is for children to go downhill fast and slip through the cracks. With parents who loved him but couldn't put their own issues aside he was ignored. Helene the teacher noticed an issue but schools are so restrictive on how they can help or intervene. This must happen so much with schools and pupils and it is really sad. The whole novel was pretty bleak and melancholy but I thought it brought up some important issues. 

This novel is about choices and consequences. Are adults allowed to have issues and problems? Of course they are. But should they let this glaze over their abilities to look out for their children's welfare? No. Every character in this book at some point should have spoken up and said something about their secrets, their life, their friend, their relationship. But I totally understand why they didn't. 

This novel felt very modern and real, I thought it was a unique story and although the tone was sad throughout I was gripped and will continue to be a Delphine de Vigan fan. 

*Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read in an exchange for an honest review*

A compelling novel about two families with problems and a teacher who, because of her own background, is overprotective of her student. It asks what our "loyalties" should be in difficult situations and whether family should always be placed above all else. This is a short book but very thought-provoking - ideal for book group discussion.

Loyalties tells the story of a schoolteacher attempting to move on from a fractured abusive childhood whilst simultaneously teaching two children in her classroom, both experiencing a home life in a dysfunctional family environment. Is she imagining a burgeoning situation ensuing with these young friends, colouring her judgement and misreading the signs or is past history giving her clarity others lack. Friendships in childhood by their very nature demand levels of automatic loyalty without the awareness and logic that comes with maturity. Isn't that what these children demand as the unspoken cost of their friendship. Two women, one displaying no loyalty, one misplaced loyalty, wrapped up so totally in their own lives they have become blind to the damage and neglect inflicted on their children. And so, we the reader watch a train crash of events moving towards a terrifyingly predictable conclusion. I was on occasion frustrated at the lack of background knowledge the reader is given. Numerous questions as to how these relationships and families descend into hopeless abject misery. Is that the sign of a good story, leaving us wanting more. But perhaps the title of the book goes some way to showing us the answer. This book is fiction yet we read or hear something similar everyday. Newspapers, television and even the streets we live in. Fiction becoming fact on so many levels. A book leaving the reader questioning so much about the society we live in.

Loyalties is a strangely captivating piece of literary fiction about secrets and the way they are wound together. Théo and Mathis are twelve and secretly drink at school. Théo's parents are long separately and he is caught between the two of them. Their teacher, Hélène, becomes obsessed with working out what is wrong with Théo, whilst thinking about her own past. And Mathis' mother Cécile discovers a secret about her husband in his office that changes how she views him. Théo forms the centre of the narrative as these characters try and keep loyalties in tact.

The novel is translated into English from French and the style is presumably trying to pick up something from the French original. It is atmospheric and stark, staying fairly ambiguous and not giving resolution, especially not to Cécile's story. Due to this and the dark subject matter, the novel is likely to not be for everyone, but it is a surprisingly gripping short read that looks at how secrets persist. It does feel like it could go deeper into the issues raised in it, though, but that isn't really in the style of the novel.

A short novel about two pre-teen boys and their very different families and the problems they face. Chapters told from multiple points of view.

The blurb intrigues but I found this disjointed and a rather superficial approach to some important topics. The writing, too, felt stilted - it feels like a translation that never quite settles into a natural rhythm. Two pre-teen boys troubled enough to be drinking excessively, an anxious schoolteacher watching them, one of their mothers discovering a horrible secret life of her husband - I wanted to delve deeper, especially in the last story but this is written in platitudes rather than with insight. And then it ends. Abruptly.