Guylain Vignolles

At the novel’s start, Guylain Vignoles is a non-descript, slim 36-year-old man who works as an engineer at a paper pulping plant in a suburb of Paris. He is dissatisfied both with his life and with himself. Born with a name that lends itself to the mocking “Vilain Guignol—ugly puppet” (1) he blames this unfortunate parental choice for his devastating social anxiety. “His aim was to be neither good-looking nor ugly, neither fat nor thin. Just a vague shape hovering on the edge of people’s field of vision. To blend into his surroundings until he negated himself, remaining a remote place never visited” (2). This anonymity does not last long, however, as the novel’s primary narrative arc is Guylain’s development from chronic isolation to acceptance in a larger community. This process is often painful for him, but it is essential to restore his humanity...