Le Boulevard de la Solitude

‘Le Boulevard de la Solitude’, a story of love and hate, is set in Paris in the 1980s with its distinctive character – exhilarating, daunting. When Paul Mortimer arrives there, he is dazed by culture shock. Finding a job in a large company, he befriends a brilliant young director Rachel Cziffra who introduces him into Parisian society. Her husband, Fabrice, is a successful ‘high-tech’ businessman and a future member of the French Parliament. Immensely rich, they live in the 16th arrondissement, the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’, and own a magnificent chateau in Normandy.

Yet, Fabrice’s fortune is based on corruption, and when he leaves Rachel for a beautiful Moldovan call-girl, he falls under the influence of a criminal gang. The ensuing divorce destroys them both. Eventually Rachel becomes the victim of a murder attempt, disappears and is presumed dead. Paul is left searching for her.

‘Le Boulevard de la Solitude’ vividly captures the essence of Parisian society at that time – from the ‘metro, work and sleep’ lives of commuters to the splendour of the upper classes in the rich quarters. John Malicorne’s characters exist in an illusionary world of hierarchies, codes and rituals - a prehistoric dreamtime tribe, harbouring an inner malaise.  The plot plays out with the effervescent sordidness of Paris as a backdrop.

John Malicorne was born in England and has lived in the Parisian region for about forty years. For his first ten years in France he worked as an English teacher in a telecom company. (His experience of company life is depicted in the book).  During that time, he studied for a Master’s degree in French law at the Sorbonne.  Since then he has been teaching International Business Law in Parisian universities and business schools. He also created a company for training company lawyers.  His wife is French and he has four grown- up children. As a foreigner in France, he has been fortunate enough to know many classes of people in Paris, portrayed in the characters of the story.