Since he has
to spend the evening alone, Daniel Mercier decides to have dinner in a
brasserie and to enjoy himself there. He can hardly believe his eyes when next
to him M. le Président de la République, Francois Mitterrand, is seated with
two friends. During dinner, he eavesdrops the small group and when they leave,
Daniel finds the president’s hat forgotten by its owner. When he puts it on,
his life starts to change. An experience that also Fanny makes when she discovers
the hat in a train forgotten this time by Daniel. In this way, the hat starts
to travel across Paris, miraculously changing the lives of the people who put
it on.
I really
enjoyed reading the novel. First of all, we are sent back to the 1980s, a
completely different era with Mitterrand as socialist president and Paris
undergoing dramatic changes. The idea to have an item which triggers your own
superpowers is funny in one way, in the other it also shows that just by
believing in something you can achieve quite a lot. Not to forget: this is a
novel to enjoy and indulge in since the changes are positive ones. Each
possessor makes a stop forward in life, overcomes old believes and finds the
courage to end things. The novel leaves you with a smile on your face and a bit
of sadness when you have reached the last page knowing that the hat’s story
will not go on.
