One of the reasons to keep a lot of books around is that you can grab the right book for the right moment in time.
Sometimes the moment is dictated by time. A couple of months ago, I had a two-day window for a new book that I wanted to finish before a five-day period when I knew I wouldn’t be reading at all.
So, full disclosure, I chose Elisa Shua Dusapin’s “The Old Fire,” primarily for its compact nature: 175 pages of a good-sized font and with a lot of white space.
For a book that took only a few hours of reading time, it has managed to remain in my thoughts in the weeks since I first read it. I wasn’t planning on reviewing it after my initial read, but the fact that it has lingered with me since has me thinking there’s much more at work than I first realized.
Translated from the original French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins, “The Old Fire” is narrated by Agathe, who has returned to her childhood home in rural France to dispose of the possessions left behind after her father’s death. She will be working alongside her younger sister, Vera, whom she hasn’t seen for many years, and who has been mute since they were both children.
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The story moves between the present, where Agathe and Vera go through the detritus of their childhood lives, and the past, as Agathe conjures memories from her childhood, bringing incidents to mind for inspection and some measure of self-recrimination.
The house is falling apart, bats in the fireplace, ants marching unfazed across the floor, smells of dead creatures decaying in the walls. There is only enough hot water for a single shower, something Agathe does not realize until Vera informs her that she has been taking cold showers.
Once they are done with their work, the house and grounds will be sold, and all the structures razed.
As a child, Agathe had been Vera’s only companion and protector, but Agathe simply left as soon as she could, ultimately winding up in New York City as a modestly successful screenwriter with a partner with whom she is trying to have a child. Vera seems to be doing fine, having made a life for herself, but she is a mystery to Agathe. Vera’s inability to speak means they communicate mostly through Vera tapping out notes on her phone.
The setup for the novel is a character seeking closure and reconciliation, but this is not the experience “The Old Fire” delivers. Not much seems to happen. This frustrated me when I first read it, but over time, I’ve asked — What did happen here? — which brought me back to the text to reread and reexperience.
The prose is spare, unadorned, often Agathe reporting what she is doing, but there is a palpable power in the atmosphere Dusapin conjures. We come to understand that Agathe is borderline terrorized by guilt she neither wants to acknowledge to herself nor express to Vera. At one point, Vera asks if Agathe thinks they would be friends if they were not sisters. Agathe hesitates, wondering if it is her responsibility to soothe Vera’s feelings, before answering honestly, “no.” Vera thanks her, and said she wouldn’t have believed her if she replied otherwise.
Quiet, and devastating. These moments accrue bit by bit.
Letting the experience of the novel sit allowed for its subtle power to reveal itself to me. It’s a book that requires a particular kind of attention, a willingness to still and let the perspective of another move through you.
Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “Tyll” by Daniel Kehlmann
2. “The Director” by Daniel Kehlmann
3. “Vera, or Faith” by Gary Shteyngart
4. “There Are Rivers in the Sky” by Elif Shafak
5. “What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan
— Nancy B., Chicago
For Nancy, I’m recommending a novel that mixes history and the fantastic into a truly unique blend: “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr.
1. “The Antidote” by Karen Russell
2. “Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk” by Kathleen Rooney
3. “Brooklyn” and “Long Island” by Colm Toibin
4. “Mailman” by Stephen Starring Grant
5. “Sipsworth” by Simon Van Booy
— Jill M., Evanston
For Jill, I’m recommending the original and propulsive “Lion” by Sonya Walger.
1. “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell
2. “James” by Percival Everett
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3. “The Lion Women of Tehran” by Marjan Kamali
4. “The Silent Patient” by Alex Michaelides
5. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
— Susan K., Downers Grove
Looking for something that might not otherwise get on Susan’s radar and coming up with “Saul and Patsy” by Charles Baxter.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to [email protected].
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.