This was definitely not the kind of book I was expecting when I requested this - it’s a slow paced literary thriller that weaves stories within its story to bring a labyrinthine piece of art to life. I really enjoyed this - it was creepy enough to keep me on edge while it’s literary nature made it almost dreamy (or perhaps nightmarish). I’d recommend this to people who like slower paced thrillers - if you need fast pace action it certainly won’t be for you.

The Birthday Party took me months to read. The circuitous detailed style of the prose means slow reading is required, but the rewards are worth it.

Mauvignier is a master of creating tension and pulling away from a scene just when you think something is going to happen. The slow burn of the novel is more than made up for by the explosive, propulsive ending which is a fantastic piece of writing.

I adored this tense and clever book, and the ways that it weaves whole stories out of small moments.

At the beginning of the book, we observe as a family of characters all travel towards the same house, and soon find out the fate that will befall them all there, as their lives (and civility) are soon thrown into disarray.

For me, the real genius of the book was its utter control of the pacing- long, winding sentences were used to manipulate the tempo, speeding up the narrative to tense, breathless frenzy, only to place words in the way again to hold off the reader from what they inevitably know is coming.

The sharp observations it pulled off were also an absolute delight, watching in painful detail as a character's whole worldview could be displayed, challenged and replaced within a few small moments.

I read this book in a rush, caught up, but also not wanting its 500 pages to end.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A slow paced noir thriller set in the French countryside in the run up to a birthday party and the arrival of ominous strangers. This was a little too slow paced for my liking but still an interesting read; 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

I am a very unfaithful reader. I may start several books at the same time, and leave them one after another, for months, fascinated by a new author or title. I rarely do not finish books, but it may take one year to finish a book sometimes. As I am taking careful - written - notes and thanks to my good memory, I keep the track of the ideas and observations, but still, my unfaithfulness is there. Until I really meet books and authors that consume my curiosity and time beyond my limited attention span.

This time, it was Laurent Mauvignier´s Histoires de la Nuit. My previous book by Mauvignier, Des Hommes was inviting, but still didn´t request exclusivity in terms of reading time. Histoires...though, absorbed my attention and time beyond my spiritual powers. For four days, I was devouring the book in my early hours before starting my hectic days, while commuting and while using my last active neurons before going to sleep. I breath and eat and dream this book.

The book is a bit over 600 pages, with sentences that build up as colours may fill the void of a painting. I´ve read the book in the original French - an English edition is supposed to be published at the beginning of 2023 by Fitzcarraldo Editions, translated by Daniel Levin Becker and I am really interested to have a look at the translation as well - and again, was grateful for the priviledge of having this language as my 2nd mother tongue - with the accent on the mother part.

The reading of this book made me acknowledge something about my reading habits: a story that has a beautiful writing and an appealing story guarantees my full attention. The writing of Histoires de la Nuit is dense - almost page-long sentences - reproducing the thinking flow when it has to re-enacht thoughts, but short and alert when displaying a succession of facts.

The story itself is a carefully built thriller: in a remote quiet French hamlet, the predictable life of a young family is turned upside down when three unknown men unexpectedly land at the door on the 40st birthday of Marion. The guys are not unknown for Marion, whose past suddenly seems to endanger everyone who happens to arrive to their house. The ambiance is built long before, with symbolic suggestions spread from the very beginning of the book. It is an exercise in attention and dedication required from the reader.

This year, I started by getting to know the fantastic writings of Annie Ernaux, and ended by the discovery of Mauvignier. I still have some reading to be done until the next of the year therefore I avoid doing any final countdown. However, I am grateful for having so many extraordinary literary discoveries in the last 12 months and I am looking hopeful for the next 12 months of intensive reading and writing.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was offered an English version of the book in exchange of my honest review but the opinions are, as usual, my own

The Birthday Party (2023) is Daniel Levin Becker's translation of Laurent Mauvignier's Histoires de la Nuit (2020).

The novel is a 500 page literary-thriller a combination of dense prose and page-turning suspense that treads a fine line between the best and the worst of literary fiction and genre thrillers and on another day (or with a shorter book) I might have loved this. But for me, unfortunately, the novel fell on the wrong side of that line, starting with the very first sentence.

She watches him through the window and what she sees in the car park, despite the reflection of the sun that blinds her and prevents her from seeing him as she’d like to, leaning against that old Renault Kangoo he’s going to have to get around to trading in one of these days–as though by watching him she can guess what he’s thinking, when maybe he’s just waiting for her to come out of this police station where he’s brought her for the how many times now, two or three in two weeks, she can’t remember–what she sees, in any case, elevated slightly over the car park which seems to incline somewhat past the grove of trees, standing near the chairs in the waiting room between a scrawny plant and a concrete pillar painted yellow on which she could read appeals for witnesses if she bothered to take an interest, is, because she’s slightly above it, overlooking and thus observing a misshapen version of it, a bit more packed down than it really is, the silhouette, compact but large, solid, of this man whom, she now thinks, she’s no doubt been too long in the habit of seeing as though he were still a child–not her child, she has none and has never felt the desire to have any–but one of those kids you look after from time to time, like a godchild or one of those nephews you can enjoy selfishly, for the pleasure they bring, taking advantage of their youthfulness without having to bother with all the trouble it entails, that educating them generates like so much inevitable collateral damage.

I normally love this type of labyrinthine, nested sentence, but this one didn't work for me, it felt a little too random.

In terms of the pyschological thriller aspects, the novel flits between the consciousness - or more accurately the close third-person PoV - of the characters, an aspect I find a little problematic when the plot requires withheld information. I recently read a Netgalley of the forthcoming None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (my teenage daughter's favourite writer) that did the thriller aspects rather better and, while initially falling into the same narrative trap, did provide a potential explanation in a last page twistHere it felt the characters were too busy making unrealistically astute pyschological appraisals to actually think about who was who and what they planned.

So 2.5 stars for me but clearly a novel that's worked well for others.

Slow paced read. Unusual style of writing for this genre book. Playing with words, creating atmosphere, slowly moving forward.

3.25/5

Farmer Patrice, his wife Marion, their daughter Ida, and their artist neighbour Christine's idyllic existence in rural France is interrupted when Christine starts receiving threatening letters and strange men start showing up at their hamlet, eventually crashing Marion's 40th birthday party

Lauren Mauvignier’s “The Birthday Party” is an incredibly intense account of one day and one party that destroys a family. In beautiful, endlessly winding prose, we are led through the thoughts and histories of our main characters as the events of the day build towards a suffocating finale.

Though the very long, minutely detailed paragraphs and trains of thought could be frustrating at times, this tense, surreal story nevertheless riveted me and I appreciated the layered, complex characterization.

Thanks so much to Fitzcarraldo Editions and Netgalley for the ARC!

Buried deep in rural France, little remains of the isolated hamlet of the Three Lone Girls, save a few houses and a curiously assembled quartet: Patrice Bergogne, inheritor of his family’s farm; his wife, Marion; their daughter, Ida; and their neighbour, Christine, an artist. While Patrice plans a surprise for his wife’s fortieth birthday, inexplicable events start to disrupt the hamlet’s quiet existence: anonymous, menacing letters, an unfamiliar car rolling up the driveway. And as night falls, strangers stalk the houses, unleashing a nightmarish chain of events.
Told in rhythmic, propulsive prose that weaves seamlessly from one consciousness to the next over the course of a day, Laurent Mauvignier’s The Birthday Party is a deft unravelling of the stories we hide from others and from ourselves, a gripping tale of the violent irruptions of the past into the present, written by a major contemporary French writer.
Entirely beautiful, bruising and hopeful! I felt every word that was written.

In an isolated hamlet in rural France a birthday party is being planned. Planned by Patrice for his wife’s 40th birthday. Just a small intimate gathering. But as we all know, even the best paid plans don’t always go according to…well, plan. And that’s all I’m going to say about the plot as I feel the less the reader knows before embarking on this long but endlessly gripping novel the better. The slow build-up of suspense won’t work so well if you already have a few clues about what’s going to happen. So reader beware – don’t read too many reviews. I found the novel absolutely mesmerising, edge-of-the seat stuff, a slow-paced psychological thriller where the suspense build up inexorably and the nightmarish air of menace never lets up. A brilliant read.

Jon McGregor calls this book a ‘slow-motion thriller’ and it’s spot on. It is a French literary novel, with long, flowing sentences covering just one, terrible day in over 500 pages.

It is set in an isolated hamlet of three houses in rural Central France, where farmer Patrice has taken the day off to prepare a surprise party for this pretty wife who turns 40. When he returns home from shopping he discovers his daughter and neighbour are being held hostage by three men he has never seen before.

It takes some time to get used to the style and then some more to finish it, but it fits and pays off as the tension builds up. It felt like watching one of those tense French movies set in a room with conversation around the table. I also had to think of Saturday by Ian McEwan.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. The premise sounds so good, but the writing style with loooooong paragraphs and no full stops didn’t capture my attention enough to finish the book. I think one Marcel Proust is enough for this world.

The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier is the story of a surprise treat that doesn't go as planned to put it mildly.
With Farmer Patrice Bergogne's marriage to wife Marion having gone stale he, along with 10 year-old daughter Ida, wants to make her 40th birthday one to remember, it's certainly that. With artist neighbour Christine receiving threatening letters and visits from an inquisitive stranger who is very obviously not who he claims to be things in the tiny hamlet of the Three Lone Girls are already taking an ominous turn when on the night of the party the stranger returns with company.

This is a gripping story with an insidious sense of menace that builds up from the day of the party until events spiral out of control. The tale is told through streams of consciousness from all of the main characters and is beautifully written. It's main problem is that the elegant and impressive prose is often at the expense of much actually happening and quite often the same words or actions are repeated from the point of view of several characters. While the characterisation is excellent as I've already said the sense of menace builds up from the day of the party.....which is a very long way into the book and even then my interest started to wane as hints and suggestions from certain characters seemed to take forever before the reader has any clue what's going on.

I did enjoy it, the actual story is great,but I'd have much preferred a "straight narrative" and 200 pages less. while I really appreciate and enjoy good writing in this case it just blunted the tension and spontaneity of the narrative as the psychological evaluation kicked in once again suspending the actual action.

Beautifully written but frustrating.

This was a great introduction to a writer I had not heard of before. I was fascinated by the effect of the long, searching sentences that delved deeper and deeper into each characters perspective.

The Birthday Party ticks the necessary boxes of the thriller genre, except that – counterintuitively - it moves at a glacial pace. In what is certainly a nod to cinematic techniques, Mauvignier’s descriptions zoom into close-up, describing minutely the characters’ actions. Then, doing what a cinematographer would find it difficult to do but a novelist can, he delves into the psyche of the protagonists, often slipping into a sort of stream-of-consciousness approach.

In the initial pages I loved this approach, which I found incredible immersive and involving. But I must admit that my initial enthusiasm started to wane, and by the end of the 500+ page novel I was making an effort to keep going. The novel is an interesting exploration of the secrets we keep even from our closest family, and it touches upon many interesting themes. It should appeal to those who love genre fiction of a literary bent but it is perhaps better described as an anti-thriller.

The “Birthday Party'' takes place during a nightmarish evening in a small hamlet in the north of France. The book centres on the Bergognes family; Patrice a farmer, Marion his wife and their daughter Ida. They have only one neighbour, Christine, a Parisian painter who has come to seek calm in the countryside with her dog Raja. The family life of the Bergones is not as idyllic as it seems. Marion doesn't seem so happy living in the hamlet with Patrice and Patrice in turn copes with their marriage problems by sometimes visiting a brothel in a neighbouring town. The story begins one afternoon while Ida, Patrice and Christine are preparing Marion's surprise birthday party; Raja mysteriously disappears and three strangers start prowling around the hamlet.

What makes this book special is the tension that is built within the story. The reader never relaxes, during the Marion's “birthday dinner” secrets surface and tensions keep rising. Every character is dissected; their feelings, their past, their intentions and their relationships. The author makes us wonder how much we really know about the past of the people we live with. A psychological thriller that allows the reader to breathe only when they reach the last page. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and Mauvignier’s writing style is beautiful! The only thing I found a bit challenging was the pace which was quite slow for me - but the pace really amplifies the tension in the book so it actually works to the story’s advantage.

Definitely, a must read for people who love a slow burn thriller!

Laurent Mauvignier’s 'The Birthday Party', translated from French to English by Daniel Levin Becker, is a thriller set in an isolated hamlet in rural France.
Patrice Bergogne, inheritor of his family's farm, is planning a surprise birthday party for his wife, Marion. Patrice's family starts recieving threatening letters from an anonymous sender, they see an unfamiliar car rolling up the driveway, and have strangers stalk the property.
This sudden, unexplainable and nightmarish chain of events starts to disrupt their peaceful family life, and secrets they kept from each other start to unravel.

'The Birthday Party' had all the characteristics of the thriller genre, but the extremely slow pacing, lengthy, and wandering sentences just couldn't capture my attention.
Despite its intriguing plot, a great setting, and interesting themes, this novel, unfortunately, fell flat for me.
The story would have been a lot more gripping and impactful if it wasn't dragged out for 500+ pages.
It's one of those novels that would benefit from being much shorter.

I struggled to stick with this book to be honest. While I enjoyed the premise - following the Bergogne family over 2 days leading up to a 40th birthday party - it dragged for me as a reader. This is a dark and reflective novel, where secrets lie dormant at the heart of family but sadly, felt like 200 pages too long for me.. Publication date is 18 January.

unfortunately, this book was not for me and I had to DNF at around 50%. While the writing was extravagant and beautiful, the long wandering sentences got to be a bit much for me to follow and didn't convey a sense of thrill or suspense

“The Birthday Party” – Laurent Mauvignier (translated from French by Daniel Levin Becker)

In an isolated hamlet in rural France, Patrice Bergogne is preparing a surprise birthday party for his wife Marion with the help of their artist neighbour, Christine. Everything appears to be progressing as boringly as life normally does in this sleepy part of the world, until an unknown car pulls into the driveway, and a series of events turns their peaceful existence into a waking nightmare. If you’ve seen Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, you’re on the right track.

The style of writing in this book is sure to divide people, and it may be too much for some. Mauvignier’s eye for detail and knack for building tension is impressive, but it leads to introspective, crafted sentences that sprawl across paragraphs and pages, leading the reader into an almost existential confusion over the passage of time. At times, it was too much for me, especially in a book this long (500 pages), and I found certain passages laborious to get through, simply because it’s not a style of writing I like.

That said, as I mentioned above, the crafting of tension is superb here, and there were several parts that felt almost cinematic in their vision, edge-of-the-seat tense, not least when the book starts moving towards a conclusion that feels inevitable from the start. Whether that conclusion is satisfying or overdone is debatable – both the beginning and ending of the book felt flat to me, compared to the agonising emotional pressure and confinement of the middle.

I also don't think this is merely a literary thriller with no depth – there are deep ruminations here on French society – fragile masculinity, class frustrations, sexual workers and mental health (the last two not dealt with any deft touch, in my opinion, so be warned). It’s a very ambitious book, if not always successful in its outcomes.

As always, an intriguing and worthwhile read from @fitzcarraldoeditions – my thanks to them and @netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. The Birthday Party is published on 17th January if this review has caught your eye.