Pour Une Vie Plus Douce

At first it is almost banal. The story of a couple dreaming of a better life and letting themselves be seduced by the illusions of a consumerist world.
Bertrand works in the parcel department of the Post Office. Having failed to secure internal promotion, he has no hope of any career advances. Sandrine has a precarious if specialised job. They get married, have a child and set up home in a council flat in Sartrouville. They could live there modestly but have got into the habit of buying whatever they feel like on credit. Why live on the cheap when financial institutions offer a better life? They take out a huge mortgage to buy a bungalow. The father falls for a top-of-the-range gas barbeque and the latest model of eco-friendly wood-burner. Their spiralling debts grind the family down until it falls apart. The man ends up alone with his nine-year-old son. Pursued by creditors and prey to daily humiliations that promise a miserable future, he decides to commit the irreparable.
For a Better Life checks the pulse of our consumer society through the story of a modest family, strangled by debts until their lives turn to tragedy. There is, however, a note of hope and a great deal of humour in this incisive novel which displays admirable humanity and genuine tenderness for its credible, un-flashy and endearing characters. People who have been made vulnerable but manage to cope with a life of injustice and hardship, and prove a magnificent sense of solidarity. Overlaying the main theme is the strong and touching father-son relationship, subtly exploring questions of family ties and of guilt and responsibility.
Philippe Routier was born in Germany in 1958. He has lived in Paris since 1974. He is the author of Le passage à niveau (2006) and Le veilleur du Britannia (2008), both published by Stock. He works for a large transport company.

Philippe Routier est l'auteur de quatre romans, parus chez Stock: "Le Passage a niveau" (2006), "Le Veilleur du Britannia" (2008), "Pour une vie plus douce" (2009) et "Noces de verre" (2011)."