by Yves Beauchemin
When the mysterious Egon Ratablavasky offers Florent the means to realize his ambition as a restaurateur, the ebullient Florent is at first elated but quite soon terrified at Ratablavasky's power. A strange and pungent odor (sulphur?) always accompanies Ratablavasky's appearances, underscoring his resemblance to the devil. The plot progresses through one slapstick event after another, in which Florent gains and loses his restaurant, his home, his health and good spirits, his means of livelihoodand almost his sanity, his hoped-for family and his wife. Ratablavasky, often referred to as ""the stinking alley cat,'' and a real, tiger-striped alley cat named Breakfast, owned by an alcoholic urchin of six, finally confront each other in a less-than-credible scene at the novel's resolution.
(5 years and 620 days ago)