Why “Waiting for Bojangles” has become a cult book

« I knew a man, Bojangles, and he danced for you. Nevertheless, »

Lulled by the bewitching notes of Nina Simone. Meanwhile, a dance couple, again and again, as if to retain time by a waltz step, under the amazed gaze of their son. Moreover, Welcome to Olivier Bourdeaut’s first novel. Furthermore, While waiting for Bojangles, An invitation to float, laugh and, perhaps, to shed a few tears between two summer evenings.

Released in 2016. Furthermore, crowned by the Grand Prix RTL-Lire and the France Télévisions Prize, translated in around twenty languages, the novel has established itself as a literary phenomenon. However, He inspired a play and, more recently, a film made by Régis Roinsard. Moreover, But before being an editorial success. Therefore, while waiting for Bojangles is above all a declaration of love for fantasy and excess.

Where the absurd is poetry – Why "waiting bojangles" become cult

From the title. For example, obvious reference to Samuel Beckett, Bourdeaut anchors his story in a form of tender absurd. Therefore, At the center of this unbridled passion. Moreover, a singular couple: Georges, the father, is madly in love with his wife, whose first name remains mysterious. Therefore, It refuses conformism with fierce energy, dreading boredom like others fear death. Consequently, Every day, she requires being called by a new first name: “Give me the first name that sings you!” But please, have fun, make me laugh. Furthermore, Here, people are all scented with boredom! Furthermore, »»

Narrated mainly through the amazed. Meanwhile, naive eyes of their young son, the novel takes us into a home where banality does not have a city. Meanwhile, In this family. we are not talking about rain and good weather: we are why “waiting bojangles” become cult talking about ostrich feathers, improbable cocktails and infinite love. The outside world does not exist. reality remains at the door, as evidenced by the mail that overflows from the mailbox. In the background. Nina Simone’s song returns as a refrain, telling the story of a man encountered in a prison cell that danced from bar to bar after the death of his dog.

If the novel touches so much. it is also thanks to the writing of Bourdeaut: short, rhythmic, musical, almost syncopated, it makes us penetrate this home as in a dream. The sentences have the lightness of a dance step. the intoxication of a champagne cup, but also know how to be sharp. Additionally, The alternation of points of view – that of the child. tender and candid, and that of the father, more lucid and melancholy in his notebooks – creates a narrative swing which reflects the waltz why “waiting bojangles” become cult of emotions. The absurd humor rubs shoulders with the most delicate poetry there, in a universe that recalls that of Boris Vian.

When the music is interrupted

But how far can we repel reality when you decide to live while waiting for. Bojangles?

Over the melody, the false notes appear. Because yes, this idyllic universe is just a “splendid lie”. When the narrator changes, the pages of the paternal diary exhibit family secret. The Fitzgeraldian atmosphere is suddenly stained by a dull, darker reality. The mother is not only whimsical: she is sick. After all, in “crazy love”, there is the word “crazy”.

His psychological disorder is never explicitly named by his son. but the words of a doctor brutally pierce this enchanted bubble. Folie, first perceived as a delightful oddity, why “waiting bojangles” become cult becomes confinement. Like the character of Nina Simone’s song, a prisoner of a cell, the mother is captive of her delusions. The couple refuses to face reality. persists in extending the party, even if it means going into exile in a castle in Spain, where the illusion vacillates until the tragedy catches up with them.

If there is a sentence that must be remembered from Georgette-or Louise. Renée, according to the mood of her husband-it is: “When the reality is trivial and sad, invent me a beautiful story. You lie so well, it would be a shame to deprive us of it. »»

Between bursts of laughter. pinches in the heart, while waiting for Bojangles is a whirlwind of emotions that can be read as a luminous tale or as a family drama. When the music goes out. there is not only sadness remains: there remains the dazzling of having seen, the why “waiting bojangles” become cult time of a song, the crazy love stands in front of the brutal reality. By closing the book. we still hear Nina Simone, and we imagine this Valser couple to repel, for a few moments, the inevitable.