Emanuel Carrere__
THE MOUSTACHE
The Moustache, first published in 1986, is a novel by the French writer Emmanuel Carrère.
The story begins with a fairly innocuous and insignificant event that spirals towards
what can only be
described as a profoundly disturbing conclusion. One morning, a man shaves off his long-worn moustache,
hoping to amuse his wife and friends. But
when
nobody notices, or pretends not to have noticed, what started out as a simple trick turns to terror. As
doubt and denial
bristle, and every aspect of his life threatens to topple into madness – a disturbing solution comes
into
view, taking us on a
dramatic flight across the world.
Thematically the book explores a great deal about perception of self, the presence of identity, how this
may define a
person and what might happen when deprived of self-identity. Physicality can become irrelevant, you are
known to people
for who you are, and not precisely what you look like. It is perhaps only the self that cares about
appearance, how one
is perceived by the wider world.
A superficially nonsensical journey, that turns to be inevitably dark, menacing and psychologically
horror.
