I must preface my review of L’Etrange Voyage de Monsieur Daldry, by Marc Levy, by mentioning that I read this novel in French and not English, which may have partially influenced my rating. Nevertheless, I am leaving my review in English to ensure that more potential readers have access to this review.
Overall L’Etrange Voyage de Monsieur Daldry was a very entertaining read. The story was a bit of a slow burner (it took me perhaps 100+ pages to get into the narrative – perhaps this was due to the fact that I was reading in French which is a third language for me), and seemed deceptively predictable at first as a run-of-the-mill romantic adventure novel. Yet later I was pleased by a few unexpected plot twists which enhanced my curiosity to get to the end.
What I enjoyed most was the impeccable detail and sublime prose that Levy used in setting the scenes in the novel. In particular, he painted an exquisite portrait of Istanbul and its surroundings (which I’m yet to visit in my travels!) which clearly shows his intimate knowledge of this ancient world metropolis and Turkish culture. The final denouement was also very gripping and touching, in a way that I had not envisaged at the start of the novel.
Overall, I would recommend L’Etrange Voyage de Monsieur Daldry to anyone looking for an entertaining read. It is has a certain depth to it (i.e., it is not a typical predictable, happy-go-lucky romantic adventure novel), that is quite refreshing.
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