Sometimes the movie is better than the book. In this case the one star reviews are far more articulate,nuanced,and insightful than this pompous screed of a trite rite of passage from this pretentious icon of the French.I started reading this book hoping for a "Blue Highways" but found myself slogging through page after page of utterly self absorbed and myopic self musings.Mon Dieu!! Could this be? Perhaps it was I who missed the profundity of the great "BHL" ( the name itself pretentious and revealing).So I then checked the reviews. How typically American,BHL would probably sneer,"ready ,fire,aim." The reviews gave me final dispensation and validation to trash this piece of tripe. This book is so bad it tempts one to go on and on with endless BHLesque adjectives so I will not.BHL, I have read Toqueville,and you ain't him ,bud.Hats off to all you guys and gals of the intelligent one star reviews.