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Our latest review is a piece I wrote about Benoit Duteurtre’s (translated from the French by Bruce Benderson), which is part of Melville House Press’s fantastic

It’s a pretty funny book that a lot of people will be able to relate to:

The novella opens with the hapless narrator leaving his cell phone in a taxi. In his mind, this is an easy enough problem to solve���Ĵ�ý�all he has to do is get a replacement phone and he���Ĵ�ý�ll be on his way. For anyone who���Ĵ�ý�s ever dealt with a cell phone company (i.e., everyone), it���Ĵ�ý�s never that simple. As the narrator finds our, the new phone will cost four times as much as the original, and without his SIM card, he won���Ĵ�ý�t be able to keep his phone number, and besides, his account doesn���Ĵ�ý�t allow for a replacement phone���Ĵ�ý�he���Ĵ�ý�ll have to open a new account and pay for both until the original contract expires.

Refusing to give in to this insanity, he decides upon another approach���Ĵ�ý�getting in touch with Leslie Delmare, Director of Customer Service, who had sent him a letter granting him ���Ĵ�ý�preferred customer���Ĵ�ý� status, which must count for something, right?

“Once I���Ĵ�ý�d arrived at this third level in the pyramid, however, I understood that I couldn���Ĵ�ý�t climb any higher: The middle manager tried to dodge my request; then, seeing that I wouldn���Ĵ�ý�t give up, explained to me in a patient voice that Leslie Delmare, in charge of customer service, didn���Ĵ�ý�t exist. It was just a name invented for the signature. The only person who could take care of my problem was imaginary. This woman���Ĵ�ý�s words threw me back, mind ricocheting, to all those powerless operators who couldn���Ĵ�ý�t make the slightest decision but were forced just to repeat the phrases they���Ĵ�ý�d been taught.” [Click here for the rest of the review.]