The Investigation by Philippe Claudel

Philippe Claudel’s latest novel is an engrossing and often frustrating descent into the irritation and tyranny of the modern world. Frustrating because spending a prolonged period of time with someone constantly thwarted by minor inconveniences, as our protagonist is, cannot help but leave the reader similarly itching to escape such claustrophobic confines. Whether it be an overzealous policeman insisting on one final reconstruction of a meaningless triviality or a snack machine delivering tantalising food just out of reach, a complete catalogue of modern horrors is present here.

The novel is written in the high modern-allegorical style of a Kafka or a Coetzee - every character is an abstract noun, their entire identity provided by their profession - and follows the Investigator as he journeys to the Firm to seek out an explanation for their recent spate of suicides. The story descends deeper and deeper into this bureaucratic hell, only just allowing the hope that the Investigator will emerge from this frustration to gasp at least one lungful of clean air. Such satisfaction remains elusive, however, and this novel leaves a bitter aftertaste as we reflect on just how diabolical our seemingly harmless world can be. [Daniel Davies]