In French literary landscape too readily doomed to autofiction (the best novels of the past months witnessed more or less Reinhardt to Salvayre through Carrère and Foenkinos), a big thank you to François Roux breathing "large" in Gross National Happiness, writing the novel of a generation born in the dreams of grandeur the evening of a presidential election 81 and totally disillusioned 31 years later, with the arrival in power of a new candidate left. From a François another, time had done its work and worn to frame the hope of a happy and fulfilled life. Happiness precisely what is this strange beast, so eagerly sought? "For thirty years, we sailed on sight, confused, indecisive, towards a goal that the world itself disoriented, we clearly designated the survendant to be happy despite everything and its corollary -réussir his life." The book by François Roux is extremely well organized: two distinct historical parts (from 1981 to 1984 and then from 2009 to 2012, corresponding to 20 years and then the pre-fifty of its protagonists) strong roots in Brittany, four young boys " in the wind "with different characters and ambitions but, with the exception of one, will become" someone ", in politics, in the world of art and that of the business, professional success yet fragile and accompanied by terrible flaws. Gross national happiness is not far from becoming too insistent in his demonstration that money and fame did not bring happiness (we already suspected some) but the author has given depth to the psychology of his characters and style, cast in a classicism that do not return, creates a feeling of closeness with his quartet Breton, humanizing each character in his search for inner peace and balance. The narrator, the fourth man, somehow, to the most remote and less "successful" life's role is to bring together the links between these high school friends. François Roux is less convincing on the subject, the book is finally over the sum of individual destinies, certainly parallel, a choral work. Here, no or little groups of scenes like the best Italian comedies (We All Loved Each Other So Much, My dear friends), references in this field. Paradoxically, however, the most remarkable feature of the book is that of Alice, yet less "exploited". But is it not the mystery that makes the so exciting?
