A nomad and a swindler embark on an eccentric road trip in this
picaresque, philosophical novel by the author of The Man Who Planted
Trees.
The south of France, 1950: A solitary vagabond walks through the
villages, towns, valleys, and foothills of the region between northern
Provence and the Alps. He picks up work along the way and spends the
winter as the custodian of a walnut-oil mill. He also picks up a
problematic companion: a cardsharp and con man, whom he calls "the
Artist."
The action moves from place to place, and episode to episode, in truly
picaresque fashion. Everything is told in the first person, present
tense, by the vagabond narrator, who goes unnamed. He himself is a
curious combination of qualities--poetic, resentful, cynical,
compassionate, flirtatious, and self-absorbed.
While The Open Road can be read as loosely strung entertainment,
interspersed with caustic reflections, it can also be interpreted as a
projection of the relationship of author, art, and audience. But it is
ultimately an exploration of the tensions and boundaries between
affection and commitment, and of the competing needs for solitude,
independence, and human bonds. As always in Jean Giono, the language is
rich in natural imagery and as ruggedly idiomatic as it is lyrical.
