Because the pen of Vargas is unique

It has been followed since its Little Treatise of All Truths about Life (2001), and we have fallen head first in its polars that do not resemble the others. Words that can not be found anywhere else, from popular wisdom, are the atmosphere of a contemporary Paris, that of an outdated countryside (here not far from the capital), fascinating animals (amateurs will appreciate a certain Mark Marc the marcassin in this opus), ultra-drawn characters (almost the whole brigade), unexpected cultural details, dialogues with the knife ... All these ingredients that make a Vargas a Vargas - and that one day we could read a page at random and immediately recognize the author. She missed us.

Because Glacial Weather is a little different

It is subtle but undeniable, there is something different in this opus. During the almost 500 pages of the novel, two independent investigations are intertwined in a distorted and inextricable manner: one goes to Iceland, the other to a role-playing robespierriste. Nothing to see ? Obviously if, it is suspected, but the "ball of algae" of the plot is tight. Even the unlikely Adamsberg, who needs a lot to hurt the sense of logic, feels overwhelmed by the events. Another remark: if Glacial Weather is different, it is also because there lacks a little intimate depth, details under the skin - no Camille or any other woman in the vicinity of the Commissioner, a brief evocation of the child of Adamsberg (rather accessory), nothing of the family life of Danglard, hardly a bit of emotion on the side of Retancourt. A strange little lack of flesh, even if the author has never been the kind to show us to excess the private life of his characters.

Because are always crazy about Adamsberg

He was incarnated on the screen by Jean-Hugues Anglade and José Garcia (double sex appeal, therefore), and in our head, it is almost 15 years that we know it by heart. Or at least, try to pin it down. Inspired but dreamy ("as the Quebeckers used to say in Sous les vents de Neptune"), a curator but detestable, but effective, but elusive, and above all devilishly intelligent: faithful to himself in Ice Age , Adamsberg surprises us however as a man of action (and yes!), And wavers the fidelity of his team, priceless Danglard in mind. We always follow him running.

Because we still vibrate with History

Vargas is a historian by training, and more precisely a doctorate in the Middle Ages. As in L'Armée furieuse or Pars vite and come back late, the polar draws part of its strength from the historical wealth distilled by the author. This time, it was the Revolution that revived in dotted lines over the pages, and more precisely the Terror. The past and the present play hide-and-seek, we get lost ... then we find ourselves there.

Because we do not care about the killer

This is also what makes a Vargas a Vargas and not an Agatha Christie. Unlike the classic thrillers, and against all odds, the outcome is almost incidental, and the revelations of the end to the limit of the anecdotal - with Vargas, the best, is the road, not the destination. And once again, we did not see the kilometers passed.

Glacial times, ed. Flammarion, 19 € 90.