"A Good Day to Die," by Laurent Graff: Two bullets or nothing
Review Convinced that war is imminent, a former soldier becomes obsessed with his own death. A darkly humorous novel. ★★★☆☆
The writer Laurent Graff, in 2007. ULF ANDERSEN/AURIMAGES VIA AFP
"I'm waiting to be shot. I don't know where it will come from, which trigger it will pull, or when." Jacques, the narrator, a former soldier whose solitary life consists of fishing, dice rolling, and a random job as a storekeeper, is obsessed with the idea of his own death. In his delirium, he concocts various funereal scenarios, sometimes accompanied by Aurélia, who appears and disappears at will like a ghost, and by an inspector who looks just like Columbo. Convinced that war is upon him, he takes Rodrigo, a deserter, into his home. One day, perched on a watchtower, Jacques has him in the sights of his rifle and... End of Part One. In the second part of this darkly humorous novel, in which Laurent Graff playfully leads his reader into absurdity and unease, we will discover who Jacques was and what led him to commit an irreparable act.
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