(Reviewed by JD Jung)
#CommissionsEarned
“Freedom of movement is what I want more than anything—particularly after eighteen months of restrictions.”
Cafes just started to reopen after the release of the Covid-19 vaccines, and José, the waiter at Le Tom’s Café is restless. Thirty-one-year-old Cloe Fournier is sure that José thinks she is a parasite, as she just sits in the corner, sketching and observing the patrons. However, there are more to people than often meets the eye.
Fifty-seven-year-old Thibault Detressant is waiting to meet the man he never got over as a teenager. Twenty-five-year-old Guillaume enters with his mother, whom he hasn’t seen for years. Unfortunately, he is about to learn about some family dynamics that he is not prepared for.
Café Unfiltered takes place in a period of twenty-four hours, as we learn the stories of those sitting in this café located outside of Paris. Author Jean-Philippe Blondel masterfully teases us with the initial account of his characters, but then revisits their stories. Our view of them shifts as we learn more, often from the perspectives of those close to them.
I couldn’t wait to turn each page in order to discover more about these complex characters and their stories and backgrounds. Each of them seems very real and Blondel approaches them with compassion and sensitivity.
Though the plots are totally different, Blondel uses similar approaches to his characters as he did in The 6:41 to Paris. Though I thoroughly enjoyed that novel, Café Unfiltered was my favorite. I hope that more of his work is translated into English.
