The Anomaly

A Novel

De: Hervé Le Tellier, Adriana Hunter - translator

Narrado por: Dominic Hoffman

Winner of the Prix Goncourt, this dizzying literary page-turner ingeniously blends crime, fantasy, sci-fi, and thriller as it plumbs the mysteries surrounding a Paris-New York flight.

In June 2021, a senseless event upends the lives of hundreds of men and women, all passengers on a flight from Paris to New York. Among them: Blake, a respectable family man, though he works as a contract killer; Slimboy, a Nigerian pop star tired of living a lie; Joanna, a formidable lawyer whose flaws have caught up with her; and Victor Miesel, a critically acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful writer who suddenly becomes a cult hit.

All of them believed they had double lives. None imagined just how true that was.

A virtuoso novel where logic confronts magic, The Anomaly explores the part of ourselves that eludes us. This witty variation on the doppelgänger theme, which takes us on a journey from Lagos and Mumbai to the White House, proves to be Hervé Le Tellier’s most ambitious work yet.

Unexpected

It is the most unusual story that becomes gripping. I started The audible version, but unusually for me, I had to invest in the paperback. Particularly to understand remotely the end.

Thought provoking

Enjoyed it very much. Thought provoking. What are the consequences if we are just an anomaly?

Smart, engaging, thought provoking

Multiple characters, including a contract killer, a Nigerian pop star, a Black female big
pharma lawyer, and a writer whose back stories are established and developed, are on an international flight that passes through a storm. What follows are duplicates of the plane and passengers landing months apart. The resultant story has the doubles experiencing contrasting views of life. The public response allows the reader to consider everything from religion to existential angst. The doppelganger theme opens opportunities for discussions of pop culture, climate change, humanity's place in the universe
- and much more. This is a smart and complex effort that generally works.
The performance is good as well, a calm and engaging narration. The book is thought provoking and interesting, a pleasant surprise.

Well written, disappointing foundation

In my opinion the foundation of the story does not match the nature of the Anomaly. The story is well written. A little less focus on religion would have been more to my liking as well.

I’m Speechless

Therefore I cannot articulate my response.
At the gym, walking the dog, I often uttered out loud my incredulous response to this intelligent, provocative, unsettling tome. This book plays with your mind and your heart. Time travel? Not exactly. Politics? A whiff. International connections? Yes. A little gore added in? Yes. Familial & relational complexities times two? To the 100th power. I cannot explain why this book kept me in its grasp, without giving away too much. Trust me (even tho when someone says that to you, you shouldn’t).