Everyone
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Summary
The novel traces, step by step, how an ordinary person's life slowly collapses amid various helpless circumstances. Within the calm, restrained narration lie intense sorrow and loneliness, alongside touches of humor and wit.
Paul was born in Toulouse, France. His father, Johannes Hansen, was a Danish pastor from a small town of only eight thousand people on the Jutland peninsula. His mother, Anna, was born in Toulouse and inherited the family's small cinema, a well-known local "art and experimental" cinema during the New Wave era. Paul had a happy childhood, but the divide between his avant-garde mother and his father, who defended traditional religious faith, grew ever wider. In the end, after Anna insisted on screening a pornographic film against her husband's wishes, their relationship formally broke down. Johannes decided to go alone to Montreal, Canada, to serve as a pastor in an industrial small town. After his father left, Paul's relationship with his mother deteriorated further; he resented her indifference to his father's departure. The following year, Paul decided to leave France for Montreal to reunite with his father. After a calm and happy time together, Johannes, addicted to horse racing, embezzled church funds and lost everything; he collapsed and died during his final sermon before being dismissed by the church.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in reflecting on contemporary society and the alienation of human relations
- Readers who appreciate cool, restrained narration and literary texture
- Individuals in transition or hardship seeking spiritual resonance and understanding
- Readers interested in observing human behavior through sociological and psychological lenses
Not a good fit for
- Casual readers seeking light entertainment or strong plot conflict
- Readers who prefer romanticism or emotionally charged, expressive prose
Reading tips
- Read in a relatively quiet setting where you can focus and think, the better to feel the text's tension and its use of silence.
- While reading, set aside expectations of "story" for a time and follow the author's prose as emotion and atmosphere accumulate layer by layer.
- After finishing, extend your thinking with Dubois's other works or related social commentary.
About the publisher
Shanghai People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher whose list focuses on academic monographs and general-interest titles in philosophy, social sciences, politics and law, economics and management, and history. Among its books are Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties History in the Chinese Dynastic History series; The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy in foreign literature; the Wenjing Classical Translation Illustrated Edition of The Complete Greek Tragedies of Euripides; and works of social theory such as Max Weber's Economy and Society and Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Its authors include Wang Zhongluo, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luo Niansheng, and Zhou Zuoren.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 大河监狱
- 斯卡恩，被沙子掩埋的教堂
- 牧师的困惑
- 深喉
- 塞特福德矿城
- 风琴停止了演奏
- 魁北克省，蒙特利尔市
- 薇诺娜的海狸水上飞机
- 至暗前夕
- 飞机、牵引车和等待
- 重返斯卡恩
FAQ
Is the book's tone very heavy and oppressive?
What are the hallmarks of Jean-Paul Dubois's writing?
Is this book suitable as an introduction to contemporary French literature?
Comments
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About the author
Jean-Paul Dubois is an author about whom limited public information is currently available. Two of his works are included in the collection: Everyone and A French Life (World Book Day exclusive first release). Judged by their common categories, his writing is classified as foreign literature and classic works, with themes centering on the interweaving of individual destiny and French social life, and a style that tends to present the relationship between people and their times through everyday experience. The title A French Life also suggests his attention to French social reality, while Everyone takes a more universal perspective. Because information such as his biography, nationality, and dates of birth and death remains unclear, no speculation is made here; readers may turn to these two works to appreciate his narrative style and literary concerns.
Public information about Huang Hong is limited: her year of birth, nationality, and educational background are not clearly documented. Judging from the seven works held in the collection, her writing and translation span foreign literature, biography, and inspirational growth. Her titles include Black Studio, The Power of Years, The Great Rooster, Sunday, and Everyone, as well as I Cannot Walk Out of My Dark Night and A True Home: Conversations with Michelle Porte. These titles suggest a sustained interest in personal experience, memory, and emotional themes, with an introspective and delicate style that unfolds her characters' inner lives through everyday detail. Her works are categorized under foreign literature and biography, and some have appeared in short-classics editions, showing a cross-genre character between essays, biography, and narrative writing. Given the insufficient verifiable biographical information, a full assessment of her oeuvre and influence awaits further material.
