"What man does, man destroys"

The novel Jérôme Ferrari, as it is almost a new short (200 pages size), is distinguished first by a beautiful writing, rich vocabulary and chiseled phrases and subtle historical and philosophical references, surprisingly, does not clash with a story centered on the earth earth universe of a rather ordinary bar of a small Corsican village.

Through the story of a family (4 generations), the author cleverly illustrates the idea that if you do not choose your family, you can not easily escape to the history and injuries of the same family. Through the aspirations of Matthew and his friend Libero who return to the village to take over the management of a bar yet marked by an obvious evil star, the author develops his central theme - "What man does, man destroys "- based on trivial and very concrete events. The plot of the story is well located light years of civilizational upheavals Augustine lived 1600 years ago, which nevertheless serve as watermark in the novel (Libero studied Saint Augustine varsity philosophy and Matthew's sister works on the excavation site of Hippo) and come to highlight the point.

It is therefore with great discretion that the author uses the reference to the sermon of Augustine on the fall of Rome: no need, as demonstrated by Jérôme Ferrari, fierce Visigoths and Vandals warriors to bring down a seemingly ideal world. Poor small grains of sand may be sufficient to destroy the best dreams: a bit of jealousy towards the waitress who met the man in her life, or a hint of disappointment vis-à-vis another which subtracts the sums yet minimal in the fund for Libero; the vain belief that one can live away from reality and yet that same jealousy towards Matthew, who fails to take stories of love, to those who have no such restraint.

Bright, well-written, cleverly constructed, sometimes funny, often dark, "The Sermon on the fall of Rome" strikes through the power of his words and his message about the humility to every human enterprise. Yet it lacks the "je ne sais quoi" that would make it a memorable novel. A "fall" a bit too predictable, perhaps.