Arriving In Avignon
‘Arriving In Avignon’ records a young man's encounter with that labyrinthine city and his likewise meandering relationship with a girl from his home town – and, indeed, virtually every woman he meets. Hesitant and cautious, quite unable to enter or turn away, the young man seems to circle Avignon endlessly, attempting in the process to delay his inevitable descent into maturity and monogamy.
'Arriving in Avignon’ is its own strange and gorgeously sprightly thing. Here’s hoping that as many readers as possible will discover it.Rain Taxi Review of Books
What at first resembles a cross between a memoir and a guidebook in time proves to be the story of a young man's dogged yet futile quest to know his own mind – unless it is the ancient city of Avignon itself that is our real protagonist: a mystery that can be approached, but never wholly solved. The narrative unfolds in a stream of consciousness, drawing the reader into the protagonist’s quest for experience. The plot has been reinterpreted as an accumulation of events and places and the trips are numbered. As such, the topography brings structure to the protagonist’s ‘record’ of events and experiences.
The book succeeds because Robberechts’s intellectual curiosity dovetails beautifully with that of an avid reader.Publishers weekly
An eloquent and interesting recordThe Complete Review
