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A review by darren_cormier
The Waitress Was New by Dominique Fabre
5.0
Pierre's is a quiet life. The head barman at a small cafe in the Parisian suburbs, he was once married (for a very short time) and now, a bit older, doesn't even date anymore. His life consists of working at the Le Cercle, where he has worked for over eight years, and occasionally having a drink at a neighboring cafe, and seeing a movie or having dinner with a friend.
The Waitress Was New focuses on Pierre's dealing with the changes at Le Cercle over the course of a week to ten day period, and how he deals with change within a quiet, meditative lifestyle. Having worked at Le Cercle for so long, and worked as a barman for so long, Pierre has learned more about human nature and motivations than most are aware. His is an anonymous profession, similar to the butler in Ishiguro'sThe Remains of the Day (minus the historical importance of the employers) His observations of the customers, and his understandings of who they are, propel the story, and make us wish we could actually be the apprentice to whom Pierre is teaching the trade to (were that possible):
"They come and go for the most part. Let the world turn around us, beyond our spotless bars, in the end every day will be wiped away to make room for the next."
"And then, not long after that, you could see tiny raindrops falling through the mist under the light by the newsstand, like little brushstrokes."
These observations, not only of people, but of atmosphere and environment, come from a life of watching, observing, anonymity.
The titular waitress of the book plays a very small role in the book, working at the bar for two days before she decides her commute is too far and that she cannot work under the circumstances to which the bar has fallen. Madeleine and Henri are the married proprietors of the establishment. Shortly after the book starts, Henri disappears, most likely to be with his mistress, and does not tell anyone. During this period, bills do not get paid, orders are not made for new supplies, food, vendors. The business is essentially left by Henri, who is the only one who calls the vendors and pays the bills, to flounder. He does not return. Pierre, as the longest employee, serves as a de facto manager and a calming presence. Amedee, the hot-tempered and talented chef, can always find another job, theorizes Pierre: he is young and talented.
Over the course of the next week, the restaurant closes for a few days, setting Pierre into an existential drift, the book becoming a meditation on loneliness. At 58, most of Pierre's friends are married or scattered. His closest acquaintances are fellow barmen, who serve him until after close and hold him in the same knowing esteem as we do those who share our profession. We see Pierre begin to wonder what his life has been, going through the memories of past girlfriends, of how long he has been in his apartment, of how his life of ritual and stability has hampered his ability to adapt, all the while told in Pierre's steadying voice, never feeling sorry for his circumstances, never rising above that of a kindly inquisitor. When he meets his closest friend less and less due to the others' romantic involvement, it's not an indictment of the friend, but a realization that habit and ritual, while creating comfort, can be the prime genesis of loneliness. Loneliness is the failure to adapt. when you are left with nothing but your past. Living is knowing loneliness won't defeat you.
"I wandered around for a while, and then I went into a cafe near Batignolles Park. I ordered a beer from a young guy in a white shirt... and we talked a little, when you're in the business you recognize each other. Maybe a barman still served some purpose, after all?... And that was that. I started back to toward Saint-Lazare to catch the last train home. But the closer I got the less I liked that idea. In the end, I decided to walk back to [my apartment]. Al my papers wer puled up in my table... waiting for me, and all my past."
The Waitress Was New focuses on Pierre's dealing with the changes at Le Cercle over the course of a week to ten day period, and how he deals with change within a quiet, meditative lifestyle. Having worked at Le Cercle for so long, and worked as a barman for so long, Pierre has learned more about human nature and motivations than most are aware. His is an anonymous profession, similar to the butler in Ishiguro'sThe Remains of the Day (minus the historical importance of the employers) His observations of the customers, and his understandings of who they are, propel the story, and make us wish we could actually be the apprentice to whom Pierre is teaching the trade to (were that possible):
"They come and go for the most part. Let the world turn around us, beyond our spotless bars, in the end every day will be wiped away to make room for the next."
"And then, not long after that, you could see tiny raindrops falling through the mist under the light by the newsstand, like little brushstrokes."
These observations, not only of people, but of atmosphere and environment, come from a life of watching, observing, anonymity.
The titular waitress of the book plays a very small role in the book, working at the bar for two days before she decides her commute is too far and that she cannot work under the circumstances to which the bar has fallen. Madeleine and Henri are the married proprietors of the establishment. Shortly after the book starts, Henri disappears, most likely to be with his mistress, and does not tell anyone. During this period, bills do not get paid, orders are not made for new supplies, food, vendors. The business is essentially left by Henri, who is the only one who calls the vendors and pays the bills, to flounder. He does not return. Pierre, as the longest employee, serves as a de facto manager and a calming presence. Amedee, the hot-tempered and talented chef, can always find another job, theorizes Pierre: he is young and talented.
Over the course of the next week, the restaurant closes for a few days, setting Pierre into an existential drift, the book becoming a meditation on loneliness. At 58, most of Pierre's friends are married or scattered. His closest acquaintances are fellow barmen, who serve him until after close and hold him in the same knowing esteem as we do those who share our profession. We see Pierre begin to wonder what his life has been, going through the memories of past girlfriends, of how long he has been in his apartment, of how his life of ritual and stability has hampered his ability to adapt, all the while told in Pierre's steadying voice, never feeling sorry for his circumstances, never rising above that of a kindly inquisitor. When he meets his closest friend less and less due to the others' romantic involvement, it's not an indictment of the friend, but a realization that habit and ritual, while creating comfort, can be the prime genesis of loneliness. Loneliness is the failure to adapt. when you are left with nothing but your past. Living is knowing loneliness won't defeat you.
"I wandered around for a while, and then I went into a cafe near Batignolles Park. I ordered a beer from a young guy in a white shirt... and we talked a little, when you're in the business you recognize each other. Maybe a barman still served some purpose, after all?... And that was that. I started back to toward Saint-Lazare to catch the last train home. But the closer I got the less I liked that idea. In the end, I decided to walk back to [my apartment]. Al my papers wer puled up in my table... waiting for me, and all my past."