Book Review: "Standing Heavy" by Gauz

Translated by Frank Wynne

Everyone here has a powerful motivation, although it may be very different depending on which side of the glass one finds oneself. For the dominant male in the glass cage at the far end of the open-plan office, it is maximum turnover. By any means necessary. Hiring as many people as possible is part of the means. For the Black procession in the stairwell, it is an escape from unemployment or a zero-hours contract. By any means necessary. Security guarding is one of those means. It’s relatively accessible. The training is absolutely minimal. No experience is required. Employers are all too willing to overlook official status.

Initially I was on the fence about reading this book. First off, I wanted to read it because it was nominated for the International Booker Prize, I also wanted to read it because the situation of the book actually sounded pretty interesting. However, the only thing that was letting me down a bit was the price of the book and so, please forgive me as this is another book I have on my Kindle (mainly because it was cheaper and I wanted to read it really badly, but then again it wasn't all that much cheaper. As long as I don't get buyer's remorse I'm alright).

The book follows the lives of three undocumented workers in France working as well, whatever they can find. Not all other people are honest as we will see there are possible shoplifters around. There's two main characters in the 1990s and one main character in the 1960s and all three of them are interconnected in some way (no spoilers).

They come from the Ivory Coast, live in a community of their own people and all enter and live upon political changes and upheaval as they try to navigate the land and earn a living. Told a little bit out of time order, the three ages are titled as such: The Bronze Age (1960-1980), The Golden Age (1990-2000) and The Age of Lead (post-2001). The narrative is often seen through the eyes of a security guard which makes for a confusing, though pretty interesting part of the story.

The book's first scenes in the prologue open upon a security guard position going and people signing up to do the job. We are told of the amount the employer is willing to overlook as long as they get the best person for it. Part of the job is described as such:

Those who already have experience in the profession know what lies in store in the coming days: spending all day standing in a shop, repeating this monotonous exercise in tedium every day, until the end of the month comes, and they are paid. Paid standing.

I think that the most well-written part of the book was when the tone changes from political satire to political nightmare in The Age of Lead. As Ferdinand tries his hand at an honest living as a security man, a contractor and as time goes on he accumilates a sum of money - he is at a time contented. Then, we have the former teacher who meets his friend, another undocumented person and they are at the cusp of a great change to Paris.

The Age of Lead gets serious about issues like racism as we see Paris on the edge of the post-2001 era after the Twin Towers in New York came down. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect, everyone is afraid and the threat of violence against the innocents is very real. These three people from the Ivory Coast become embroiled in a battle they didn't start and didn't want. With racially aggravated violence brimming on the horizon, their experiences in Paris begin not only to shape themselves but they also shape the image of France to come.

All in all, though it was a confusing book often told in a style that I think was purposefully difficult, the narrative is actually pretty good. Though the book itself is quite short for its subject matter I think that it works; it gives us a glimpse into the lives of only three people who end up representing an entire population at various periods of time. It was a very interesting read.