Customer Reviews

The Little White Car

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is perfect for a bubblegum read in the sun - the laughable story line does nothing to detract from the enjoyment of this book.
There is an undercurrent of cynicism, could call it realism I guess, underpinning the characters, the chipped and bent motivations and behaviour are painfully familiar, even a 'happy' ending can't save this lot. For me this lifts the little white car above the usual drossy chick lit it's parodying.
It's undoubtably from the hand of Dan Rhodes - if you liked the other stuff you'll love this.

'The Little White Car' has had some very bad press, but I think it is unfair. I thoroughly enjoyed this crazy tale, set in France. A perfect holiday read that you can get through in an afternoon, preferably in the sunshine somewhere!
Rumour has it that the author, Danuta de Rhodes is really Dan Rhodes, previous author of some books that I have read but did not enjoy too much. If it really is the same person, then he/she has changed style for the better.

Well I think it's safe to say that this book was written by Dan Rhodes, and is the funniest book I have read in years. The completely implausible plot is spoofing all the naff chicklit that has terrorised us over the past few years, but at the same time is totally charming and warm. The characters are brilliant, especially enjoying Estelle who for some obscure reason is studying welsh poetry; the doctor who can dance, and Clement who almost has an episode with the dog bowl. It's only a short bookso I won't say any more about it - just read it (and if you haven't read Timoleon Vieta Come Home yet then buy that whilst you are on here), and don't take it too seriously!

This slim, Nancy Mitford-esque volume is great for reading in the park (preferable Jardin de Luxembourg, of course) on a sunny afternoon. Its chic, continental wit would appear to be proof that yes, French people do have a sense of humour - who would have thought it?

After a discussion about whether an experimental East European music collective has ripped off the chorus from that old Vanessa Paradis-hit, "Joe le Taxi", Veronique decides it's time to break up with her boho boyfriend. More than a little tipsy, she gets into her white Fiat Uno and drives home, via the Pont de L'Alma tunnel. It's the 31 August 1997, the night Princess Diana dies in the very same tunnel. Waking up with a raging hangover the next morning, Veronique turns on the news and realises that the whole country is on the search for her and her little white car...

What follows is an irresistible screw-ball comedy plot. Veronique and her best friend Estelle (who's a bundle of sexy, neurotic fun in the way French fictional characters always are) work their way through men and money-making schemes in a bid to get rid of the incriminating car. It's a lot of fun, in a dead-pan and somehow British way...

Last, a speculation: the cover of the book looks very much like "Timoleon Vieta Come Home" by Dan Rhodes, and the author's name is also suspiciously similar. The front page doesn't give any details of an original, French title, and there doesn't seem to be any translator. Maybe the French don't have a sense of humour after all, but the Scots do?

I remember that a French book with an identical starting point - what happened to the person driving the car involved in Diana's death? - was published in French last year. I think it was called "Le 31 de mois d'aout" by Laurence Cosse. Maybe Dan has ripped off the idea, put his own rhodesian spin on it, and is now publishing this novel under a pseudonym? After all, he said that "Timoleon Vieta" would be his last book, and it would be a bit embarrassing to change tack that quickly.

In the end, who cares? (Apart from maybe Laurence Cosse). This is the sort of book that should smell of Ambre Solaire and have water-stained pages. It's enjoyable and readable and lots of other positive -ables. Definitely worth a doubloon or two.

PS. There's a dog in this one two.
PS2.The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that this isn't written by a French person. There are small mistakes in the French place names, for example.

Dan Rhodes writes with a pointed brevity in which each word seems carefully chosen to convey a much longer meaning than the short passages suggest. This allows for a quick turn of meaning which catches the reader by surprise and is, for me, much of the charm of his unique style.
The plot here is simple. Veronique comes to realise that she was the driver of the little white car that potentially caused the death of Princess Diana, and proceeds to try to get rid of the evidence.
The story though short then wanders off into lots of mini-vignettes - and this is where Rhodes excels. There are, as always, some brilliant sentences.
To paraphrase Rhodes, this book's "cuteness transcends the realms of the subjective." Recommended.

The blurb makes this book sound more inventive and interesting than it turned out to be, sadly. The plotting was a bit skippy and the characters not entirely convincing; I felt no connection to any of them whatsoever.

The author's attempt at a relaxed-but-knowing style really doesn't come off too well.

Canongate are often my go-to publisher for exciting, truly creative modern indie fiction. I expect this will have been more of a miss than a hit for them.

One of the most pointless stories I've ever read.

I found it hard to get into as the story lacked any 'meatiness' that helps readers get deep into a story.

I found Rhodes' had just skimmed over the story, not giving much insight into each character. She couldn't be bothered to build up a character so she just added in random extracts where it looked like she'd added some depth to a character, but didn't even make sense. For example, one part where a delivery man (or whoever he was) enters for two seconds, then suddenly it hints that he has some undying love for her and she will never be his, and then he leaves. What the?

Also, for me it was painful to witness Rhodes' try-hard attempt to be witty. Her humour was very familiar and I felt I'd heard it somewhere before, and therefore didn't amuse me.

Waste of money...

I recommend Starter for Ten by David Nicholls. THAT IS HILLARIOUS!

I found this to be a cross between 'Vernon God Little' and 'Catcher in the Rye' and sadly I'm a fan of neither. The idea itself made you give a lot of thought to what did actually happen on the night Princess Diana was killed, but apart from that the book did nothing for me.