Ramatuelle, Saint Tropez, a world apart from the world where social norms are very different from those we are used to. It is a diverse society where genders and customs mix, even to the point of becoming indistinguishable. The author lets us discover the nightlife with all its mysteries and rules, which can often be ruthless towards those who do not play by the rules of the game, the principle of which is to know how to keep silent, refrain from staring, and stay in the background.
A kind of omerta that Thomas does not seem to understand. He will pay for it with his life. He is underage, somewhat of a gigolo. They do not forgive him for it. In this Saint Tropez peninsula, the world of nightlife is well-defined between clubs for boys and those for girls, understanding it is up to you.
For this novel is both a crime thriller and a study of customs. In the 1980s, opinions could be expressed that today would be censored by the modern-day hypocritical censors. That is the whole interest of this book by Françoise Parturier, to revisit the nightlife of that era where there was no hypocritical censorship on the excesses of a decadent society.
Today, it is likely that this work would be partially censored for its homophobic remarks. Even Molière railed against hypocrites. “The Heights of Ramatuelle,” besides its crime plot, is a magnificent plea against this moralistic censorship that ultimately is immoral because it is hypocritical.
Who killed Thomas, the young, underage German boy? It is not our role to reveal it; for that, one must read this novel which shows us a side of this Saint Tropez peninsula where life begins with the night and ends in the dawn’s mist.
Thierry Jan, writer
