Lead Review
- Book: Vintage 1954
- Location: Paris
- Author: Antoine Laurain
Life has thrown together a motley group of four people at 18, Rue Edgar-Charellier – a “bel immeuble haussmannien” – and after one of them gets locked in the cellar by mistake, they mark his release by opening a bottle of rather fine wine from the Sainte-Antoine vineyard, 1954, one of only 800 bottles produced that year.
Back then Pierre Chaveau saw for certain a flying saucer. His was not the only sighting and his conviction was further ratified when, in 1978, he spotted the very saucer in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Then he went missing together with his dog Ausweis (a descendant of Schnell, granddaughter of Sieg, who was left behind by the Waffen SS as they fled), having drunk wine from that very vintage.
Thus there is history. And as one by one the present day characters discover that they have been booted back to 15 September 1954, they inevitably enjoy a discombobulating but humorous adventure. The Euro coins they try to hand out are thought to be Casino coins and heaven forbid there is even a mention of Brexit (you really cannot escape it)! American Bob, from Milwaukee is initially particularly enthralled by the lack of modernity.
Meet Harry, the Harry of Harry’s Bar (he died in 1958), Truffaut, Piaf… and imagine seeing the Mona Lisa without the milling hoards and guards!
They can enjoy their tardis adventure with the benefit of future knowledge. They enjoy a visit to the original Les Halles, where handcarts with provisions were the order of the day. Les Halles would be razed to the ground just 14 years later.
How, eventually, do they find their way back to their own era?
Antoine Laurain is a gifted storyteller and we first encountered his work in The President’s Hat which is equally delightful. Vintage 1954 is short, written with humour and a pleasure to read.
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