I have been reading Carrère’s books for a few years now, following new releases and catching up on the (few) books I haven’t explored yet. This year, I read **V13** and came to a rather definitive conclusion: there is a life as a reader before Carrère and a life after.
Preface. This book refers to the events that characterized that Friday, November 13, 2015, when a terrorist group simultaneously attacked the Stade de France, the Bataclan, and the outdoor areas of various cafes in the area. The final toll would be *416* injured and *137* dead (including 7 attackers). Sometime later, the trial begins against some of the terrorists, those who survived and can answer for the actions taken that night.
V13 is the compilation of the trial reports that Carrère wrote for various newspapers, expanded and sometimes enriched with information and inserts that had not found space in the magazines. Divided into three parts, the report is a real gut punch. On the one hand, it is not a work that aims to point fingers at anyone in particular, but rather a justice that aims to show the reality of the events that led to that outcome. There are many testimonies that the victims – just a small representation of those involved in that massacre – told in court, and Carrère has recounted them in his book. These texts strike the reader emotionally and necessarily slow down the reading, giving it a different influence. Similarly striking are the stories linked to the attackers, which in many cases become a display of an unexpected and unimaginable **bridge** between the relatives of the victims and those who carried out those acts.
The author’s ability to narrate with empathy and all available linguistic means an event to captivate the reader’s attention and touch all emotional chords becomes clear. For this ability to describe and narrate French current events, but not only, I like to say that there is a life *before* and *after* Carrère. Reading his writings necessarily involves a confrontation with a series of aspects that are often preferred to be concealed and ignored but are highlighted in these works. One cannot remain indifferent to his writing or his attention to today’s themes, regardless of the type and subject he chooses to delve into. You always find yourself in front of books of great depth, where the work hidden between the pages is enormous and meticulous.
I don’t know if any of you have ever read Carrère’s books; they are predominantly works of current affairs reporting. Therefore, I wholeheartedly recommend them. Similarly, I would like to know if you are familiar with him and what you think. Am I the only one considering him a “turning point” author for – almost – every reader, or have you experienced the same sensation?
by inabookhole