Le Chapeau de Mitterand by Antoine Laurain: book review

Le Chapeau de Mitterand (The President’s Hat, 2012, English version 2013) begins in Paris in November 1986.

Accountant Daniel Mercier is at the train station to greet his wife and son who have been on holiday in Normandy. Mercier is wearing President Francois Mitterand’s black felt Homburg hat. The day before he was at a restaurant when the president sat at the table next to him. When the president left, he had forgotten his hat. Instead of trying to return it, Mercier stole it.

The hat turns the quiet Mercier into a more confident man. Even his work colleagues notice his ‘calm demeanour, air of assurance, the extraordinary way he had of saying the unpalatable with the utmost tact … true class!’ Wearing the hat, touching the hat, and even having it close to him gives him a feeling of authority and ‘immunity to the torments of everyday life.’ It sharpened his mind and gave him the ability to make important decisions.

But one day he leaves it on the train. Fanny Marquant, a secretary in a regional tax office, boards the train. She is on her way to Paris for her regular meeting with a married man. It is raining and she sees the hat. Inside the hat are the initials F.M. – her initials. She wears it with her denim, mini-skirt, high heels, and silver jacket. Wearing the hat makes her feel powerful with an air of distinction.

Grey-bearded 52-year-old perfumier Pierre Aslan sees a black felt hat on a park bench. He is on his way to see his psychotherapist for his depression. The smell of the hat is familiar – one scent is a man’s aftershave and the other is a woman’s perfume: the perfume he created eight years ago.

Bernard Lavalliere is at a restaurant with his friends, where they argue about Francois Mitterand and politics. The cloakroom attendant gives him the wrong hat. If it weren’t for the hat he would never have spoken to his neighbour and accepted an invitation to an art gallery. But one morning as he is buying his daily newspaper, the hat is stolen right off his head.

Each story links the characters together through the hat. And each person feels like a changed person, just by wearing this hat. ‘It had the power of destiny’ and each person’s destiny is changed – for the better.'

Laurain’s writing is easily readable and wholly engaging, painting a picture of each character’s life and lifestyle as they undergo personal transformations that impact their fate and fortune. The narrative dips in the middle as Daniel Mercier continues to find the hat – his lost hat. But the beginning and the ending are solid and enjoyable. Overall, it’s a wonderful novel about the sequence of decisions and actions that lead to important events in people’s lives.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog