Sal Robinson on “The Explosion of the Radiator Hose” by Jean Rolin

By Sal Robinson — Published on December 7, 2009

Sal Robinson on “The Explosion of the Radiator Hose” by Jean Rolin

I still hope I may get the chance to publish Jean Rolin, a French journalist and writer. His “The Explosion of the Radiator Hose” is a short book about transporting a used car from Paris to the Congo; Rolin is bringing the car to the family of a Congolese friend of his in Paris, so that the family can use it as a taxi. The story begins with the car stuck on the road to Kinshasha, night approaching, no help in sight, and a blown radiator hose. Unfortunately, at the same time as we received this book there was another book on the same topic making the rounds, which has now come out—it’s called My Mercedes Is Not For Sale, written by a Dutch author, a comic treatment of the same type of journey. I think Rolin’s book is a little more elegant and serious. It hasn’t been published here yet.

Sal Robinson is an editor at Harcourt.

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