First Novel. By Mazarine Pingeot. The Harvill Press, 216pp. £9.99 in UK
First novel is, unsurprisingly, a first novel by a young author who has no qualms about identifying herself as the "hidden child of France's former president, Francois Mitterrand". While such biographical details are certainly interesting, and will no doubt help to sell the book, they do distract somewhat from the literary merit or otherwise of the book itself.
However, in the case of First Novel, it is difficult to see why the book would have been published were it not for the provenance of its author. Breathless in manner, it hovers uneasily between the plot and characterisation of an airport novel and a would-be literary tone that is rarely achieved. Pingeot seems to have an unqualified adoration for her two protagonists, Agathe and Victor, and their every emotion is described in loving detail. To a great extent, this absorption in the emotional life of her characters takes the place of plot, which is so thin as to be transparent. The pair live in Paris, attend parties, study and meet their friends. Victor goes to London to do some research, while Agathe goes down to the country to spend some time with her beloved father and to get over a friend's collapse from drug abuse. Victor falls in love, thereby (he is convinced) strengthening even further his love for Agathe. Agathe is not so sure. How very French.