Nothing is really happening in Second Star: and other reasons for lingering by Philippe Delerm, but that is part of the charm of this short read. Essentially a collection of vignettes that feature (what I assume to be) Delerm's observations on daily life, Second Star captures a sense of peace and calmness through the snippets of life with Delerm's exceptionally beautiful writing. However, while the writing is fantastic, the book itself is very repetitive. It's a book that is best read in small doses and enjoyed in very tiny bites.

Many thanks to Archipelago Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

A meditation on the little things in life, a call to pause and experience sensation to its fullest. I really enjoyed this.

This is a very quiet collection of musings. It’s about the mundane, the boring, the everyday small events that we hardly pay attention to. And it’s soothing.

Is this super well written and poetic? No, but I don’t think that was the intent. The author writes about the simple things and he writes about them simply. To be honest I kind of appreciated that. This little book is not pretending to be any more than it is. It does not try and be literary. It just is and I enjoyed it for that reason.

The author uses ‘you’ a lot. For example ‘On your back with a clear conscience, you close your eyes.’ It works well, it pulls you in and makes you realise that he writes about things we all do, that we share experiences. Maybe not these exact experiences, but experiences like these.

Overall, it is a light flimsy read, which is neither deep or profound, but I enjoyed it.

Quotidian reflections of a man’s life in modern-day France — some striking more of a chord with me than others. It’s a short book, and I enjoyed getting lost in Philippe Delerm’s world even if just for a little while. Life can be strange and it can be exhilarating. Sometimes it can be strangely exhilarating and exhilaratingly strange! I think Delerm would agree with this. I will seek out other books of his that might have been translated into English.

Many thanks to Archipelago and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

This is an unusual read for me, I’m kinda surprised I liked it. It’s full of short contemplations of everyday things, each is 2-3 pages. Some are reminiscences (eg. watching mother and grandmother make redcurrant jam), some are observations (eg. watching people reading or texting on a train and wondering why they smile) other are experiences like being at the theatre or being given a book. Mostly written in the second person it feels quite intimate and as most of the pieces are about things everyone has done (eg. folding sheets or washing windows) it feels like a shared experience. A quiet and enjoyable read.

Second Star presents a series of keenly-observed vignettes in the true sense of the word - you enter a scene gently and immediately inhabit the small world that Delerm describes - the sense of glasses resting on your face, the feeling of steering a stubborn cart through supermarket aisles. There is an overwhelming sense of familiarity in each of these "literary snapshots" (as the translator calls them), a sense of shared human experience. These are most skillfully presented in the cases where Delerm describes not a physical experience but an emotional one - the delighted surprise of making a connection with a stranger on the Metro, or the hesitant dance of trying to flag a waiter at a busy restaurant.

The closest analog I can recall to Second Star is Karl Ove Knausgaard's recent Seasonal Encyclopedia, which similarly captures closely-observed vignettes. Like Knausgaard's work, however, Second Star comes off wanting. The vignettes are evocative of neither nostalgia nor discovery. Ultimately, because each vignette stands alone, without an overarching theme, I was ultimately left with a lack of finality or closure at the end of the book.

My thanks to Archipelago Books for an e-ARC of this April 2023 release. Prolific and popular in France, this is only the 2nd title by Delerm published in English. The last was a 1997 title, published in English in 1999.
Short pieces in a short book. Better read a very few at a time.
Described as a "literary camera", these pieces, about 3 pages each, continue the European tradition of the flaneur. Short, insightful pieces, often from walking down the street and observing. Being French, people can actually be described as "bourgeois", a very historical term in that country.
It appears from the translator's short Introduction that these are a selection from his "Troubled Waters of the Mojito" and "Ecstasy of the Selfie" (although I do not see any titles in French listed in his Wikipedia profile that would match these titles - ???). Jody Gladding does a nice job translating, with some at times difficult French to English words and concepts.
It is a then and now collection - with pieces on carving a wooden sword (for his grandson it appears), or taking selfies, or an extended family vacation at the ocean, or being concentrated only on your cellphone in public places.
From peeling a clementine orange, to watching a woman untie and tie her hair, to walking out of a concert by a singer he previously kind of liked, this is nice, and relaxing, collection of quick profiles and situations, with insights by the author.
I enjoyed it enough to order a copy of his earlier "We Could Almost Eat Outside: An Appreciation of Life's Small Pleasures". This is a short book that will often bring a smile to your face, and have you shaking your head, "Yes, that is true!"

A longer, more beautiful, and more poetic version of “ It’s the small things that matter the most.”

Second star is about all the small romantic details that we don’t pay attention to because of our daily race in life, this book invites you to calm down, stop running and take a look on that pretty field on the side of the road, or sometimes, to the ugly, old cigarette under your foothold.

Of course, did not agree with some of the ideas presented in the essays, but I absolutely loved the writing style!
Terrific transition, absolutely recommend!

Second Star and Other Reasons for Lingering by Philippe Delerm.Translated from French to English by Jody Gladding. Will be published by Archipelago Books on April 4, 2023. (ARC)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book of brief, lyrical mediations is the ultimate "stop and smell the roses" compilation. Simple, relatable events in life, such as peeling a Clementine, are written about so artistically and romantically that you want to do those things - immediately! There were certain reflections that made me feel like I was visiting France! Great book.

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"Second Star" is a pleasure to read and savor, much like its sensory subject matter. It is a book that invites the reader into contemplative moments with everyday objects and experiences. Highly recommended for poets, readers, authors, and lovers of life. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Kirkis Reviews sums this sweet book up in a way that nothing more needs to be said:
"Throughout this collection of lighthearted vignettes, the author invites readers to slow down and cherish moments . . . getting caught in a rain shower, eating a clementine one-handed . . . or the joy of bouncing a baby in your arms . . . Delerm’s brief observations allow readers to dip in and out, offering moments of reflection and contemplation."

It's quite lovely