Mixed feelings about this one. Some of it I loved. Some of it I didn’t like at all. Basically there are three parts to the narrative. David Mazon moves to a village in France from Paris to research his anthropology thesis, intending to interview the local inhabitants. Once there he becomes more and more involved with the residents and begins to forge relationships with them. So far so good. The first person voice is really amusing, and David’s thoughts, feelings and reactions are both insightful into his own behaviour and into that of the people he meets, with some clever observations. Useful for an anthropologist. I enjoyed these sections of the novel. But then we have long historical digressions about the ancestors of the local inhabitants and these were simply boring. I didn’t see why they were included as they added nothing to David’s story. And then there’s the eponymous banquet, a sort of Rabelaisian feast which I didn’t want to read about. Pretty grotesque, most of it, to be honest. Death stalks the book, and there’s a lot about transmigration of souls and reincarnation, much of which went over my head. I found myself skipping these episodes. But when I got back to David my interest revived, and although I can understand why some readers gave up and didn’t finish, it was worth persevering as there’s more to be enjoyed once past the banquet. But the three aspects just didn’t cohere for me, and felt disconnected. Maybe I missed the point? So only a partial reading pleasure for me.

Puzzling – but ultimately rewarding.

Anyone who has read Enard's 'The Zone' will be expecting bravura experimentation with the novel form. They won't be disappointed here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The first section of this, told from the point of view of a pretentious-but-relatable anthropology student, was utterly compelling and brilliantly amusing. Just when things were getting really interesting, however, everything changed and it was like reading a different novel. The plot threads were lost and characters in whom I was interested became too distant for me to persevere. I hate to leave a book unfinished, and intend to come back to this at some point as the writing in the first part was so wonderful, but I find I can't finish it now as I have no enthusiasm for the second section.

I was curious to read this because I've heard good things about Enard, but I didn't like this as much as I thought I could or would. It's not so bad that I wouldn't read his other stuff. I thought this was okay, but to repeat what's been said by other readers, the first half was too good for it to end the way it did. The end was just a bit of a mess. Either that or it just didn't work for me the way it's intended to. I may not be a clever enough reader for its meandering ways. In short, I lost patience. But I did finish the entire thing, so it was ultimately an okay read. Don't think I learned much about grave-digging though.

It made me think of the conte philosophique of the past century. There's a story which is quite entertaining at the beginning but that becomes a reflection on death in the last part.
It's a mix bag and I liked it but i would have preferred a story or a reflection
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Mathias Énard dives deep into the Deux-Sèvres - a rural region in Western France, that Parisians may see as dull or provincial or maybe idyllic, but that despite its tranquil appearance has a spectacular past full of battles, kings and drama. Énard cleverly and eruditely shows this using the Buddhist 'Wheel of Life' as a narrative device to describe the past lives of the novel's main characters.

Central character is the young and ambitious (but terribly superficial) anthropologist David Mazon, who has come from Paris to study the life and people of the region. He starts keeping a diary and integrates in the community.

This is not a quick read and at almost 500 pages the novel is probably too long. I also would have wished the past and present lives contained some commonalities or at least had a role in an overarching plot or narrative (à la Cloud Atlas), but I have not been able to discern much logic, which gave the novel a somewhat haphazard feel, but which probably fits with the randomness of the Wheel. Still, there is much to love and ultimately it was a fun read.

Where do I even start with this review. I’ve got so many baffled feelings that the rating is subject to change but I’m not even sure if it’s going to go up or down. I’ve never had a book take such a nose dive after the first 20% ever in my life.

This novel started off brilliant. I’d come close to saying I was thinking of giving it five stars already. It was the diary of a hopeless and tragic PhD student who has moved to a small village in France. It was absolutely hilarious and I absolutely loved it. The humour was spot on and the writing from the main character just perfect. Was literally recommending it to everyone and their dog because I loved it so much.

Then it switched to another “part” of the book if you can call it that and it moved to kind of talking omnisciently about the people who lived in the village but it did like a big back story of everyone’s families and it got really boring and I didn’t understand why it was going on about all these people. Forced myself through it and then it got to a section about the titular “banquet”. Genuinely had no idea what was going on. It was like a bunch of gravediggers all meeting up to have this big meal but it was like they were talking in code I literally was so confused the whole time. Parts of it where they were talking about women and sex were very Marquis de Sade which I just did not expect. I ended up skipping through this entire section because I didn’t have a fucking clue what I was reading. Got no idea what it was to do with the main characters diary at the start.

I skipped to a section which talked a bit about people in the village again but it got a bit boring as well and by this point I felt like I’d been reading it for about 10 years and had already skipped about 200 pages. So I got to the end part which went back to the guys diary entries and it got really good again. So I really enjoyed the start and really enjoyed the end but the middle? Not got a clue. Like even getting to the end couldn’t tell you what the point of it was or what any of it meant.

Don’t know if it’s something to do with the translation or if I’m being dumb as I can’t find many English reviews of it but it was sooo so good at the beginning with the diary and then nose dived so hard I actually just didn’t want to finish it. I haven’t even got a clue what to say because I’m just baffled by this book. It’s taken me on a rollercoaster but I don’t even know where I’ve been. I would consider reading more from the author just for the beginning bit but had so high hopes for this and sad it had to let me down so much!

As I'm sure you know as the publishers, this one is absolutely going to split the crowd. I get it, I can see its merits, it's impressive in that sense. I think it's just behind me as a reader right now. It almost cannot be judged by normal criteria of enjoyment because conceptually it's just way out there. I'll definitely be talking about it on my youtube channel and I'm hosting a book club with this book at the end of 2023 so I look forward to the discussion this book will generate through that. Thank you Fitzcarraldo as always, gifting us great literature.

David Mazon fits the stereotype of someone who would reside in his mother's basement. In his mid-30s, he eventually musters the motivation to complete his anthropology doctoral dissertation, which involves traveling from Paris to the little French community of La Pierre-Saint-Christophe for a field study. “Malinowski notes that insects and reptiles are the principal obstacles to the work of the ethnologist,” Mazon writes in his journal, and while reptiles are comparatively scarce, there are plenty of worms and bugs in his bivouac. Little does he know that they’re unfortunately transmigrated human souls: “David Mazon was not aware that he was returning to the Wheel the dark souls of criminals whose heinous acts had sentenced them to many generations of pain when he poured half a bottle of bleach over the red annelids taking over his bathroom. Although not much happens in Énard's story other than metamorphosis, drunkenness, and David's clumsy attempts at romance before he decides to give up social science for farming, Énard plays on some of the same ecumenical ground covered in earlier works like Compass (2017) and Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants (2018) by referencing the occasionally conflicting beliefs of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.

Sometimes the only cure for death is to live in spite of it. Such is the case in this novel, where revelry and mayhem play against the backdrop of the forever-turning wheel of life. An irreverent novel, which seeks to explore our relation to our own mortality, and the world around us.

I know that this is a book that has a lot of merit and will have a lot of admirers, but this just was not completely for me. It starts as a journal by an anthropologist who settles in the countryside near Niort, and plans to interview 100 villagers to write his thesis on rural France. There are many quotes by other anthropologists (some I knew, some I did not), many notes on what a PhD student would struggle with: the thesis supervisor is not happy, the work is not easy to do, procrastination, missing his girlfriend who stayed in Paris... I quite liked this format, and I liked their scattered nature, as well as the many characters that appear - that David is planning to interview: the mayor, who is also the undertaker, the owner of the local bistro, the landlady who hosts him, etc.
Towards the middle of the book however, it becomes something else entirely: the eponymous banquet, and a collection of many, many stories related to the characters we met, their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents... It became quite difficult to follow, honestly quite boring at times, and I really struggled through. The last part goes back to the field notes/journal format, which I personally preferred, but I found the ending somewhat surprising, maybe too far-fetched (despite a lot of the book being quite far-fetched).
I have mixed feelings about it. Anyone familiar with the French countryside will probably enjoy a lot of it, it is full of clever observations and details, and characters who are eccentric but actually not uncommon; but the disjointed format and the middle of the book made it really difficult for me to fully enjoy it.

In pursuit of his thesis centered on contemporary agrarian life, anthropology student David Mazon embarks on a transformative journey from the bustling streets of Paris to the tranquil village of La Pierre-Saint-Christophe, nestled within the marshlands of western France. Driven by an unwavering determination to encapsulate the essence of rural existence, the enterprising scholar zips around the village on his moped, ceaselessly engaging with local inhabitants in search of their narratives.

Yet unbeknownst to David, within these unassuming lands that were once battlegrounds of wars and revolutions, Death orchestrates a captivating dance. Here, when life concludes its earthly chapter, the Wheel of Life spins anew, recycling the departed soul as a microbe, a human being, or even a wild creature, traversing time, sometimes backward, sometimes forward. Amidst this cyclical choreography, a remarkable truce materializes annually: a colossal three-day banquet where Death and the living momentarily lay down their arms. Here, gravediggers indulge in epic feasting, intoxicated by both sustenance and dialogue, all under the watchful gaze of the village mayor.

Overflowing with the distinctive wit and encyclopedic brilliance characteristic of Mathias Enard's prose, The Annual Banquet of the Gravedigger's Guild unfolds as a riotous tale. In its pages, the boundaries between past and present blur incessantly against a backdrop reminiscent of Rabelaisian extravagance – an intoxicating celebration of excess that paradoxically offers a darkly humorous ode to the inexhaustible bounty of life.

Delving into the rich tapestry of beliefs, values, customs, practices, and societal institutions, this book has provided me with profound insights. The author's keen exploration has illuminated the diverse ways in which individuals from various cultural backgrounds navigate life, thought, and interpersonal interactions. My appreciation for the intricate tapestry of human culture has deepened, fostering an enriched understanding of our shared humanity. This book serves as a bridge, promoting empathy, understanding, and interconnectedness among individuals hailing from diverse walks of life.

While the eBook holds the power to captivate the imagination, it also bears the potential for an enhanced user experience. Incorporating navigational links to facilitate chapter access, ensuring seamless word spacing for optimal readability, and adorning the digital cover with an engaging design could transform the eBook's presentation from its current document-like format into a captivating gateway, beckoning readers into a world of enthralling narratives. In light of these considerations, a minor deduction from my assessment seems warranted.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I loved the beginning of this book - first hundred pages or so as we see the small village of Niort through the eyes of academic David Mason. The writing was delightful. But then the point of view changed and with it, I lost interest rapidly and it began a DNF for me. I've no interest in reincarnation or buddhist teachings about the wheel of life. I could barely get to the eponymous banquet which I'd heard was a riot.
Sigh.