Patrick Modiano won this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature. He is well known in France but I could only find one book available in English. Out of the Dark is a tale told in flashback about two different episodes in the fictional author’s life as he remembers his time spent with a mysterious free spirit, Jacqueline. In the first flashback we learn about his time as a young adult in the 1960s striking out on his own after he quits school. He meets Jacqueline and her boyfriend Gerard. They become thick as thieves. Then there is a falling out and the author and Jacqueline run away to London for more adventures. The second is a brief flashback where the author as a 30-something who catches a glimpse of Jacqueline in a crowd and tracks her down to find out what happened to her.
The story reminded me of Breakfast at Tiffany’s and got me wondering what would the conversation be like if Fred met up with Holly 15 years later.