Author Marie Darrieussecq booklist (click here)

Book Review By John Marcel
Undercurrents: A Novel by Marie Darrieussecq

The basis of this story is a woman leaving her husband and taking her child to a seaside town in France with 10,000 Francs in cash. The father dispatches a private detective to track her down. But the story is so sensuously and descriptively written, the prose poetic and haunting that you read the book as if in a dream being caressed by the imagery of the words. There is an estate agent who fancies his chances, and a surfer who befriends both mother and daughter as subplots. A beautiful dreamlike book.
Plot Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - present (2000-2010) Inside culture (main char) Family, struggle with Yes Struggle with: - Husband Internal struggle/realization? Yes Struggle over Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Outside culture (society) Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Nationality How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Physique - average physique Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 10 (a tremendous amount) Europe Yes European country: - France Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Misc setting Style Person - mostly 3rd Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog