Book Review: ‘All Kidding Aside’ by Jean-Christophe Réhel

Jean-Christophe Réhel’s novel All Kidding Aside, translated from French to English by Neil Smith, is a true “keep you up past your bedtime” book. Even while everything spirals out of control, the characters keep the reader wanting to see what happens next.

All Kidding Aside follows Louis, a young queer man stuck working at a Montreal Tim Hortons and taking care of his terminally ill father and schizophrenic brother. All the while, he aspires to be a comedian, constantly listening to or watching comedy sets.

Louis is introduced as being completely fed up with everything around him. But despite his internal grumblings, Louis isn’t overly grumpy or pessimistic throughout the novel. He’s really just a burnout guy with a lot of love for his family.

The dynamics between the characters really shine through in this book. Particularly the relationship between Louis and Gui, his brother. Gui is obsessed with rap, constantly blasting it in their apartment, and acts a bit like an adult-sized kid. But no matter how irritating or ridiculous he is, Louis is kind and caring. 

Louis’ relationship with his father, Sylvian, is a little more abrasive, but regardless Louis loves his father. And supports him as he swipes through dating apps and attempts to revive his love life.

Much of Louis’ life is taken up by having to look after his father and brother. Although mildly depressing, this commitment to his family is what ties the whole novel together. The first half of the novel mostly follows Louis as he works, takes care of his family, and tries to find some joy in his love for comedy. 

It does eventually pick up as more starts to happen. Then things start to spiral from bad to worse, to much, much worse. Some moments feel absurd in just how bad it keeps getting, but still maintains believability. It’s like someone wrote down the worst possible week someone could have.

Although Louis’ love for comedy, and his imitations of other comedians, is present throughout the novel, the reader doesn’t actually get to hear one of his jokes until the end of the novel. That’s not counting dad jokes or one-liners. The moment of finally getting to hear the goldfish joke, which is mentioned early on, is bittersweet. The circumstances of Louis telling the joke are heartbreaking, but the joy he and his brother get from the joke is beautiful.

Structurally, the novel is told through short sentences and chapters, making for quick, snappy storytelling. It also makes it an easy read, though the quality doesn’t suffer from its simplicity. 

It also maintained some French, mostly with the curse words used by the characters. The curses, and the places mentioned in the novel, are explained in the notes at the end of the book. It makes it feel faithful to the French roots of the novel, even when translated into English.

All Kidding Aside is a bit like watching a trainwreck, you really can’t look away — or in this case, put the book down. But even as things get worse and worse for Louis and his family, the strength of the storytelling and the love Louis has for his family makes it a great novel.