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Maylis de Kerangal: Corniche Kennedy [Kennedy Corniche]
I must admit that I did not know what a corniche was before reading this book but Wikipedia explains it. The specific one here is translated by Wikipedia as Ledge of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy which seems a bit awkward so I have left it as Kennedy Corniche, a road in Marseilles named after President Kennedy.
Overlooking the the Corniche and the sea is a long thin ledge. This is regularly used by teenagers from the nearby high rise buildings. They smoke, listen to music, sunbathe and swim. Couples pair off. They tend to arrive after school, From here they can see be seen and often are seen from the posh houses. They are known as the Corniche Brats or simply The Gang. As de Kerangal tells us they are at the age when they are breaking away from parental authority and are out looking for freedom. They hang out on this ledge, known as the Platform and which they call The Plat. It is not very salubrious as there is a waste water outlet nearby but they do not mind.
There is, however, one key thing they do, mainly the boys, and that is to jump off the ledge into the sea. There are three levels. The first is the easy one. The higher one – seven metres – is called Just Do It (using the English phrase), while the very high one is called Face to Face (also in English) . It is dangerous, not just because it is high (twelve metres) but because you land in the sea where there is a strong undertow which can pull you out to sea.
The group has to be careful because they are not always alone. There are lowlifes watching ready to steal a bag, a phone or sunglasses and, in some cases, assault the girls. However they look out for one another. Except for the sexual pairings, the boys tend to stick with the other boys and the girls with the other girls.
There are two key people who have been watching them. The first is a girl of their age, who we and they later find out is called Suzanne. She is not one of them but lives in one of the posh houses on the other side from the high rises. She has been watching them and now decides to join them. When they see her they think she is a phone snatcher and she is surrounded and hassled. Eddy, the leader of the gang is inclined to just tell her to get lost. One of the other boys wants something more sexual. Then Eddy has an idea. She has to do the Just Do It jump. She refuses, saying that she has vertigo but, after a long standoff, she and Eddy go up together and jump one after the other. When Eddy surfaces, he cannot see her and swims around looking for her in a state of panic, unaware that she has got out and is with the others watching him. He is both relieved and furious when he sees her. After an initial hesitation, they accept her as part of the group. Her mother does turn up one day and there is a confrontation with her daughter but also the others.
As mentioned there is someone else watching. He is Sylvestre Opėra, head of security for the area. He has an office not far away as the crow flies and has been spying on the gang. He is responsible for a host of issues – drugs, smuggling, traffic, illegal immigrants and prostitution. However he is somewhat obsessed with the gang, not least because elsewhere a boy jumped off a bridge and into the sea was killed. He had been a police officer and got obsessed with a case where the body of a young woman was found and she had clearly been tortured before she died. He got the killer. He is diabetic and long since divorced but will become obsessed with a Russian immigrant (from Vladivostok) called Tania, as she reminds him of the murdered woman.
However he now becomes obsessed with the teenagers. The mayor and authorities are not happy about the risks they are taking. When the issue is first raised Opéra mentions his other responsibilities and does little but then there is more pressure from on high and the police move into action. For the gang it is great fun – a sort of adult hide-and-seek and they taunt the police. Opéra tries to chase one of them up to the Just Do It ledge but he is diabetic, overweight and smokes like a chimney and has to give up. However eventually they are caught and held by the police and fined €68, which their parents have to pay.
The authorities put up security cameras and call on celebrities to discourage the jumps but to no avail. Then the gang have an idea. They are going to take this further by carrying out a night jump, with phosphorescent lights and smoke. bombs. Unfortunately the night they choose, others are carrying out their illegal activities and there is heavy rain.
This is clearly a generation gap novel but also a class gap novel. Nearly all the gang are working class and, in many cases, from immigrant families. All of them are in their teens. They are at the age where they are breaking away from parental control though in some cases the parents seem to play little role in their lives. They have found a place where they can be themselves, away from school, parents and the high rises where they live and indulge in a little danger. When Suzanne arrives, they initially feel challenged but she soon becomes one of them. Opéra has a job to do and is determined to do it though he is clearly not a bad man as is seen by his assiduous tracking down of the killer of the murdered woman. In this job, he twice helps Mario, one of the younger members of the gang, whose father often seems to be absent and mother always seems to be asleep. De Kerangal tells her story well and does not make too many judgements on either side.
Publishing history
First published in 2008 by Editions Verticales,
No English translation
First published in Italian as Corniche Kennedy in 2018 by Feltrinelli
Translated by Maria Baiocchi