Maylis de Kerangal: Corniche Kennedy [Kennedy Corniche]

The latest addition to my website is Maylis de Kerangal‘s Corniche Kennedy [Kennedy Corniche]. The novel is set in Marseilles, primarily on a platform overlooking Keenedy Corniche and the sea. A group of teenagers go there to sunbathe and hang out but also to jump from various high ledges into the sea. They are joined by a girl from the rich side and she is initially rejected but then accepted. Initially the authorities let them carry on but then there is a fear that someone will get hurt and, led by the security chief, they try to clamp down. For the teenagers this becomes a game but when the teenagers try jumping at night to taunt the police, things get more complicated. This is an excellent novel both about the age gap and the class gap with de Kerangal, taking the more the side of the teenagers, albeit with some reservations.

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