Hunting and Gathering Anna Gavalda

Hunting and Gathering Anna Gavalda

Overview:

Set in present-day Paris, Hunting and Gathering introduces us to Camille, a talented artist with a mysterious past. Camille weighs just forty-eight kilos and seems on a mission to starve herself into invisibility. Suffering exhaustion and severely undernourished she is rescued from her freezing attic room by her neighbour, Philibert, a sensitive upper-class man with a passion for history. Camille moves into the apartment Philibert shares with his womanising, cantankerous flatmate, Franck, a chef. Despite their many differences this unlikely trio form a bond and become the first real family any of them have ever really known.

Translated into English from the original French version, Ensemble, c’est tout, Hunting and Gathering is Anna Gavalda’s latest novel. Her previous work includes I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere, a short story collection that brought her fame in her native France, and a short novel called Someone I Loved.

The writing in Hunting and Gathering is eloquent and rich yet it doesn’t draw attention to itself. It’s humble writing and is happy to let the plot and the characters take the centre stage that is their due. I would be interested to know how the French version reads and how it compares with the English translation. I can’t imagine anything has been lost in the translation so refined and detailed is the English version.

For reasons that aren’t revealed until late in the novel Camille gave up drawing and found work as an office cleaner. As she settles into a stable home life with Philibert and Franck she starts to pick up her pencil again and draw everything in sight.

From the beginning there is tension between Camille and Franck and for much of the book the reader is left hanging in a ‘will they-won’t they’ state that thankfully is resolved by the end.

Hunting and Gathering is a fly-on-the-wall view of the lives of the three main characters. They are perhaps a little exaggerated but Gavalda cleverly maintains a sense of reality by not making her story one of high drama, there aren’t explosive moments of great joy or sadness. This is an insight into the ordinary lives of three extraordinary people.

At just under 500 pages, Hunting and Gathering didn’t seem long enough and I was disappointed to find myself approaching the final pages. Gavalda has succeeded at creating unique and engaging characters that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. Highly recommended.

ENJOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

And Blessed Are The Ones Who Care For Their Fellow Men!