In the Café of Lost Youth (New York Review Books Classics)

“In the Cafe of Lost Youth” there are neutral zones, shadowy Parisian streets to stroll along, a cafe where real names are exchanged for cafe names, minimalist apartments, a belief that to travel means to disappear, and where a couple (Roland and Louki) do something out of character—they begin to matter to each other. But how can this interest in each other supersede the underlying currents of this statement: “My only happy memories are memories of flight and escape”?One night when Roland and Louki were out ‘looking for the heart of summer’ they found themselves missing the the last Metro in Paris, and subsequently they located a room to let for the night. Roland wonders if they could just stay there forever; Louki whispered in Roland’s ear that they should just stay here forever.” Moments like that could be attributed to the early bloom of youth.; with the end of summer comes an end to that moment, and they would move on.The room on the second story was never a beginning or an end. It was a middle passage where two people hungry for anonymity and undisclosed identities found friendship. Often in a story or even one’s life it’s the beginnings and endings that receive the weight of attention. Here it’s the middle the defines the beginning. By giving a semblance of occurrences to reflect on at that moment; the middle does not flow to the end. It absorbs the end and pulls it into a contextual center of identity. Whatever the beginning was it blends into the middle passage of Roland and Louki; in turn whatever the end it is best actualized by the middle.

This is the 14th book by Modiano that I've read, and I'll have to rate it as one of my favorites. As with many of his books it is about identity, memory, time, forgetting and escaping—and of course, Paris. I find it necessary to have my well worn Borsch laminated map of Paris on hand whenever I read Modiano. And now I will also recommend that Modiano fans also read his memoir, Pedigree, in order to fully comprehend where he is coming from, as much of what he writes is autobiographical, this book being no exception.This novella is written in four chapters, each from the first person point of view of four different characters, all of whom have a connection to a 22 year old young woman known as Louki, a name given to her in a baptism or second birth by someone known as Tarzan, or was it Zacharias? The large cast of characters can be confusing. There is a cast of about two dozen of mixed nationalities and backgrounds, most of whom frequent the Café Condé. They have interesting nicknames such as "the Jaguar", "the Captain", "Crossbones", and of course Louki. She is also known as Jacqueline Choureau nee Delanque, formerly of Montmartre 9th and 18th arrondissements, and currently of Montparnasse 6th and 14th arrondissements. She is reading Lost Horizon, which figures prominently in the action. Modiano uses the Café Condé as a fixed point around which much of the action takes place.The story starts with the narration of a young engineering student who is trying to fit in with the artsy crowd at Condé. The action opens with a description of a roster of the Condé habitués that is kept by fellow habitué Bowing, the Captain. It catches the attention of a Mr. Pierre Caisley, who says he is an "art publisher". He seems to be interested in Louki, and anyone she hangs out with.We find out in the second chapter that Mr. Caisley is not who he says he is, and the story starts to cascade and tumble from there. Action moves to multiple locations around Paris as Louki is looking for "neutral zones" that are places of safety, always trying to avoid the "black holes", or places of danger.The third chapter is narrated by Louki, and she paints a very different picture of the events that we have witnessed so far. We learn about drugs and the role they play in the plot. In chapter 4, Roland, the aspiring writer steps forward. To me he is the personification of Modiano himself at age twenty. He identifies with Louki and her attempts to flee and hide, for he has had many of the same experiences. All four of the narrators come together in the final pages for a dramatic ending that I truly did not see coming.It is a short book, but very rich and complex. I had to read it twice in order to catch all the details and nuance. Modiano is able to pack a lot into a very small package. I would rate this book at the same level as Missing Person (1978), Honeymoon (1990),and Dora Bruder (1997). The four books give the reader a span of work spreading more than 35 years and is a good starting point for anyone interested in Modiano.

I've just re-read this book for the second time -- which I've found is almost a necessity with some of Patrick Modiano's works, to truly grasp all the subtleties and clues that seemed like unimportant details at first. And for the second time, it leaves me unsettled at the end.The story revolves around one young woman, Louki, as described by three narrators and by herself. And yet when it is over, we still don't really know her or why it ended as it did. We know she is deeply unhappy, a seeker, an explorer of life, and she has been since her somewhat troubled youth; that she has no strong family connections, and that she is searching for something . . . but doesn't seem to know what any more than we do. We know she had some experiences that leave her alternately trying to forget them and being panicked by them later on. She is described first by an acquaintance at the cafe she frequents; then by a private investigator hired by her husband to find her after she leaves him; then by herself; and finally by the man who probably comes closest to knowing who she really is, but even he is left wondering at the end, as is the reader. There is as much to learn from what isn't said as from what is. The city of Paris at that time and her streets is really the fifth character in this book. I am familiar with these areas and these streets, and that added to the interest for me.The book starts out with the sentence "There were two entrances in the café, but she always opted for the narrower one hidden in the shadows." If there was one sentence used to describe this character and her life, this may be it.This is my fourth Modiano book, and it's the one that has stayed with me the longest. His writing is superb, not a word is wasted -- so much in such a small book. It's mysterious, moody, not really depressing, but melancholy, with a bit of sadness in parts (but not pervasive through the book), and it makes me think about what my own friends and acquaintances really "know" about me.

The story is told through multiple voices - so in some senses it is a kaleidoscopic narrative - and for a time the colours are subdued with no overall pattern discernible. However the momentum of the narrative builds as 'Louki' becomes more three dimensional. In the end it was with a resigned foreboding that I read the concluding Chapter.A memorable novel as much for waht is left undaid as for what is made explicit.

If you are looking for a novel with a beginning, middle and climactic end this is not for you. The Café of Lost Youth tells of the lives of a group of people who frequented the cafe of the title. It is a gentle tale - no violence, no swearing and only suggested sex. it is quick and easy to read.

Really enjoyed the book. It is however a small book. But well worth reading

This is an excellent book in itself but of greater advantage if you have first read the version in French

One of my very favourite writers. I am never disappointed.