Sleep of Memory

Paring down his enduring themes and pristine, elusive style to their essentials, Nobel Prize winner Modiano delivers yet another understanding of memory. An older man looks back at several young women he knew when he was coming of age, e.g., sophisticated Madeleine Péraud, lonely Madame Hubersen, and especially Geneviève Dalame, troubled by a difficult brother. He's inspired by a book he spots on the quays, The Time of Encounters, and indeed those were just encounters—these women brushed against him, marking him lightly before disappearing, often simply because they moved to another address. What's more significant for both narrator and reader is the view of a callow young man growing up, recognizing how little his parents matter, and eschewing mentors to find his own way. One shocking event winds its way into the narrative, but as Modiano shows, even shockers are muted by time.