Juliette— Les fantômes reviennent au printemps is a low-key family drama focusing on the intersecting stories of sisters Juliette (single, anxiety-ridden, and recently returned to her home town from Paris) and Marylou (unhappily married with kids and having an affair with a man who works at a costume shop), as well as Georges (AKA Polux), a depressive man who spends his time at the local pub. Juliette’s return brings her back into her family’s circle and the low-key but still emotional conflicts that are going on, involving her estranged parents, her sister’s increasingly complicated extramarital affair, and a budding friendship/romance with Georges.
I really liked this book, maybe even loved it. I found it to be a totally charming and low-key family/relationship dramady, which reminded me of a good indie film (perhaps like the work of Mike Mills, Beginners and 20th Century Women). I see that the author Camille Jourdy’s previous book Rosalie Blum was already adapted into a film and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is too. The art is beautiful, switching between a more light and and airy style (reminiscent of Pascal Girard) and more lush and warm painted scenes. The pacing is patient and the author allows time for silent passages that reward multiple readings, there is room to breathe and think. Small details in rooms and silent cityscapes abound.
The book is funny, heartfelt, and bittersweet, with complicated but not overly dramatic relationships that don’t go as might be expected. There are many moments that are genuinely sad and the cumulative effect is quite moving, I found. Not yet available in English, the French original will reward those who seek it out. Highly recommended.
