Paper Tiger

A former Communist radical recalls his revolutionary cell's late 1960s glory days as he drives around contemporary Paris and explains "the movement" to Marie, the daughter of a comrade who died under questionable circumstances. Back in the day, Martin and others in the cause wreaked havoc on the bourgeoisie, from vandalizing the villas of the rich to kidnapping the CEO of a company that was selling bomb components to the U.S. Air Force. But now, the aging idealist has trouble confronting the realities of the new millennium, with former comrades selling real estate and frequenting trendy bistros. In the end, the death is still a mystery to both Martin and Marie: was it suicide, or a stoned man's accident? And does it matter which? Shortlisted for the 2003 Goncourt Prize, the novel's emphasis on French politics, combined with the second-person, nearly stream-of-consciousness narration—though superbly translated by Cloonan—will make Rolin's latest rough sledding for American readers not already into dense French lit. (Mar.)