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In this shrewd, timely novel with the allure of old-school noir, an aging boxer and his daughter fight back against political corruption and sexual abuse. At 40, the great boxer Max Le Corre was enjoying a renaissance, back at the top of the ticket after a long absence. When he wasn’t in the ring, he worked as a driver for the mayor, Quentin Le Bars. Above all, he was a father to Laura, his 20-year-old daughter who recently returned home after trying her hand at modeling. Quentin had helped Max when he was down on his luck, a seemingly washed-up fighter, and now Max hoped he would help Laura find her bearings in town. But Laura’s meeting with Quentin reveals a darker side to the politician, setting in motion a chain of events that will pit Max against his benefactor. With deceptively simple, evocative prose, Tanguy Viel has crafted a brilliant takedown of the power imbalances that allow #MeToo situations to occur and fester.
About the author
Tanguy Viel was born in Brest in 1973. He is the author of several novels, including
The Absolute Perfection of Crime (winner of the Prix Fénéon and the Prix littéraire de la vocation),
Beyond Suspicion,
The Disappearance of Jim Sullivan, and
Article 353 (Other Press, 2019), which won the Grand prix RTL Lire and the Prix François-Mauriac de la région Aquitaine. He lives near Orléans, France.
William Rodarmor has translated some forty-five books and screenplays in genres ranging from literary fiction to espionage and fantasy. His translations for Other Press include
Article 353, by Tanguy Viel;
The Blumkin Project, by Christian Salmon;
The State of Israel vs. the Jews, by Sylvain Cypel; and
And Their Children After Them, by Nicolas Mathieu, which won the 2021 Albertine translation prize.
