Rating: 6/10 · Translated from French (original title Au bonheur des ogres)
- Plot: A man employed to take the blame for customer complaints at a Paris department store becomes a suspect when bombs start exploding.
- Clues: Whimsical and scattered.
- Reveal: Surprising but absurd.
Benjamin Malaussène works in the complaints department of a Paris department store. His job is to take the blame for defective products, weep and be humiliated, so that angry customers feel sorry for him and drop their complaints. When bombs start going off in the store, Benjamin is suspected.
Daniel Pennac’s novel is a comic crime story set in the multicultural Belleville district, where Benjamin lives with his many half-siblings and an epileptic dog. The family is chaotic and affectionate, and the book’s humour is warm.
The mystery is secondary. The plot is fanciful, the investigation loose, and the solution bizarre. The pleasure is in the characters and the voice.
The weakness is that the whimsy can be tiring, and the book may feel too slight for readers who want suspense.
The 6 reflects a charming and original comic crime novel that began a popular series in France. It is less satisfying as a mystery than as a celebration of family and community.
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