Veena’s review of The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles by Katherine Pancol
Women’s Fiction published by Penguin Books 31 Dec 13
This title sounded intriguing, so I picked this book over another about fairy tales, which, as it turns out, is the better choice in light of Stevie’s review on her book. As to what crocodiles are doing in a French tale with very convoluted family relationships, you’ll have to read the book to find out, but, I assure you, there are definitely crocodiles in the story – a lot of them as it turns out. I found myself becoming a part of Josephine’s family as she deals with the crap that life hands out, and she makes the best of it until she moves into the light as a self-confident, vibrant woman. Through Josephine’s eyes we get to see how family and friends shape us into the people we are and how adversity can actually free us to soar.
There are a lot of different characters in the book, but Josephine is the true heroine, in my eyes. Exhausted from the day-to-day routine of keeping a roof over her family’s head and providing consistency for her two young daughters, she’s let herself go. Its no surprise that her unemployed husband, who sneers at her education and looks down upon her, finds a younger woman to indulge his appetites with. Thank god for good friends who have the courage to tell her the truth, something the entire neighborhood has been talking about for months, to which she’s completely oblivious.
Josephine takes charge and kicks the no-good wastrel out of her life. You want to cheer for her, but then you want to cry with her as she starts to have second and third thoughts about the decision that she’s just made and the impact that it’s going to have on her two impressionable daughters. I wanted to smack her teenage daughter who blames mom for driving Dad away, because she’s too busy providing for her family to take proper care for herself. Teenage Hortense is so full of herself and so proud of her looks and her role model, Jo’s sister, who married for money and lives an envious life style.
Young, innocent Zoe, Josephine’s younger daughter, is so refreshing and loving. If only we could preserve our children at that age. Zoe brings her own set of challenges to mom with her innocent talk about the friendly neighbor’s son Max, who used to be her best friend but now seems to only be focused on interesting vaginas and she’s not on his short list. Thank god for innocence.
As though standing up to her husband and asking him to leave is a catalyst, Jo starts to come into her own. Her poor daughter’s worried about how mom is going to provide for them alone, little knowing that she’s been doing it for a long time, since dear ole Dad hasn’t been working. Her mother and sister only care about appearances, but suddenly Jo’s backbone extends to them and she turns down their charity. Unexpected kindness from her rich brother-in-law opens doors and provides her with options for earning extra money.
However, it’s her sister Iris who provides Jo with an unexpected outlet for creative freedom. Iris, in an attempt to one-up some of her society friends, talks about being an aspiring writer and then persuades her sister to write a novel that can be published under Iris’ name. As Jo starts to write the novel and her creative juices begin to flow, it’s like something opens up for her and a vibrant storyteller starts to emerge out of the cocoon of drab, weary, boring.
Jo’s innate kindness shines through in her interactions with her family, friends, and neighbors. While she remains the central theme in the story, the author appears to indulge in some side stories, sort of like those diversions you take when you venture down alternative routes to investigate interesting possibilities. I figured out the convoluted connection these characters had to Josephine eventually, but other than highlight vagaries in human behavior and human nature, I’m still not sure how they furthered the cause of the book. Shirley’s secret past is another such red herring that made me squish up my face and raise my eyebrows. So what?
I celebrated Josephine’s first sense of empowerment when she blows her whole check for 8000 on buying Christmas gifts for her children and friends. For the first time she can indulge her family and not worry about where the next meal will be coming from. Her sense of euphoria is gone almost before it really began, when her visit to the bank alerts her to the fact that apparently all those papers she blindly signed for her husband and her joint bank account now hold her hostage to repaying the loans that he took out to start his new business. That rat! It’s a good thing he’s far away in Kenya raising crocodiles and staring into their yellow eyes.
At the end, as I reflected on the book, I realize the true moral of the story is that women are strong creatures. They rise above adversity and become the stronger for it. The tortoise, slow and steady, wins the race, despite all the jeers, and the hare, despite all his advantages, loses out. So take heart and do the right thing. It will eventually come back to you multi-fold from the most unexpected sources.
Grade: B
Summary:
Le Divorce meets The Elegance of the Hedgehog in this hilariously entertaining mega-bestseller from France
When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is left in an unhappy state of affairs. The mother of two—confident, beautiful teenage Hortense and shy, babyish Zoé—is forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. Meanwhile, Joséphine’s charismatic sister Iris seems to have it all—a wealthy husband, gorgeous looks, and a très chic Paris address—but she dreams of bringing meaning back into her life. When Iris charms a famous publisher into offering her a lucrative deal for a twelfth-century romance, she offers her sister a deal of her own: Joséphine will write the novel and pocket all the proceeds, but the book will be published under Iris’s name. All is well—that is, until the book becomes the literary sensation of the season.
No excerpt available.
