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Review: Novels in Three Lines

Felix Feneon isn't the name of a YA author that you've never heard of. He's not even a YA author. Or even someone most people have heard of. However, his strange collection of bite-sized news stories seems oddly timely. Nowadays, even if we watch 24-hr news channels non-stop, we still get our stories in short bursts or news tickers along the bottom of the screen. That Fenon, and most newspapers in France, had sections that featured these "Three Line" news pieces, in 1906 seems almost prophetic. Fenon has quite the heyday, mixing morbid humor with straight-faced journalism, to make for an enjoyable read. And it's the morbidity, and timelessness, of this collection that I think will make interesting to some older YA readers, those who can sift through the uneven nature of the stories. Maybe if just to read a couple and chuckle at the novelty/oddity of the collection. But, if I'm being honest, swallowing small doses of this book is the best way to take pleasure in it. I think reading a few lines, putting it down for a few days, then repeating will open up the style and humor and make the collection that much more accessible.

Also, I know introductions, especially to literary works, can often be quite boring, but Feneon was an interesting character, and Luc Sante's introduction may actually be the best part of the book.

Give Feneon a chance. I mean, he gives new meaning to the term "short story." It's not like this collection is going to take up a whole month, or weekend. You could probably read it during musical practice, or math class (not that I'm recommending reading during math class. Or musical practice, for that matter.)