A new French novel, Des inconnus à qui parler (Talking to Strangers) by Camille Bordas, offers a revealing look inside the world of aspiring stand-up comedians. The book follows students in a master’s-level comedy workshop as they grapple with turning personal experiences into relatable humor, guided by a complex instructor.Critical reception has been varied, with some praising its philosophical depth and others questioning its narrative execution, as detailed below. The novel,originally written in English before being translated by the author,is generating conversation about the art of comedic performance and the vulnerability it demands.
A new novel delves into the high-stakes world of stand-up comedy, exploring the delicate balance between personal experience and performance. Camille Bordas’s Des inconnus à qui parler (Talking to Strangers) follows a group of aspiring comedians as they navigate the challenges of crafting humor from their lives, all under the watchful eye of a charismatic but controversial new instructor. The book, set within the confines of a master’s level comedy workshop, examines the blurred lines between authenticity and artifice, ambition and vulnerability. It’s a compelling look at how we transform our struggles into shared laughter.
What the Critics Are Saying
Johan Faerber described the novel as “a very academic, very scholastic work,” adding, “Despite the interesting reflection it offers on literary creation, the text seems hampered by a more scripted than written dimension.” He did, however, praise the author’s language, noting it “is very surprising, perhaps because the author first wrote it in English before translating it herself.” Faerber ultimately found himself with “mixed feelings,” questioning whether the book fully commits to its philosophical explorations or simply aims to entertain.
Romain de Becdelièvre offered a more enthusiastic assessment, calling the book “a great dive into the art of making people laugh, through the complete invention of a stand-up master’s program.” He highlighted the novel’s omniscient point of view, noting that Bordas “assigns the same function to literature as to stand-up: to delve into one’s darkest thoughts.” Becdelièvre praised the book’s exploration of complex questions – “Can we laugh at everything? How do we laugh at everything? How do we use our own lives to create jokes?” – calling it “dense, funny, and above all, lively!”
Listen to an Excerpt
- Des inconnus à qui parler by Camille Bordas read by Zoé Couppé
