Tartarin of Tarascon

Tartarin of Tarascon is a magnificent fool. He lives in a sleepy Provençal town but believes himself a lion of the jungle, a great hunter, a romantic hero of the sort who conquers far-off lands and wins beautiful damsins. His reality: caps, guns, and endless boasts to anyone who'll listen. When he finally embarks on an actual adventure, the results are spectacularly underwhelming. Daudet's satire cuts deep: Tartarin is absurd, yes, but also poignant. He's a man suffocated by smallness, desperate to matter, to be more than his ordinary life allows. This is comedy with teeth. It laughs at the blowhard but also at the circumstances that create him. More than a century later, Tartarin remains uncomfortably recognizable, in the office braggart, the neighbor with endless stories, the internet tough guy. The novel asks a question we still avoid: what happens when fantasy is all that stands between a man and oblivion?