The Volkswagon blues is written by Jacques Poulin a underrated french author from Quebec. This novel is centered around the protagonist Jack and his friend La Grande Sauterelle, whom he picks up as a hitch hiker at the beginning of the story. Jack is on a mission, to find his long lost brother Théo his only clue is a postcard that was sent to him 15 years ago from Gasby. Together they find out they have a lot in common and share interests. La Grande Sauterelle has a pet black kitten that is with her almost all the time, other then that she does not have any important belongings. She is called La Grande Sauterelle because of her long legs, she is a good navigator and is obsessed with books. Jack is an older autor who hasn't written a book in 2 years. He owns the old volks that is rusting and has 195 000 km on it. They pick up clues of Théo as they travel across the country looking for him as well as visting many historical sites and museums. The biggest highlight of the book for me was when Jack would described the volkswagon. "Probably on account of its age, the Volks had ist peculiar habits. The seat belts... once they were buckled it was hard to unfasten them, and you had the impression the the Volks was reluctant to let people go.... But the foremost characteristics of the mini bus was that it very much disliked being hurried. Until it warmed up in the morning it preferred to travel at a reduced speed. It hated, under any circumstance, to be pushed beyond its cruising speed, which was one hundred kilometers an hour, and the impatient driver who exceeded that limit could expect all sorts of protest: the visor would suddenly drop... the roof would come undone... or sounds would be sound from the motor or gear. The old Volks... wanted respect for its age. its experience and its odd little ways." Pg 59-60 The ending is sad, he finds his brother, but he is paralyzed, Théo does not remember Jack, but is happy. Jack decides to leave the country even after the whole summer of searching, he leaves to volks in the the hands of La Grande Sauterelle and bids farewell. The book is not for everyone, it is extremely hard to get into since it is boring to most readers. I had a hard time enjoying it myself, but the stories in between, the historical stories they exchanged were very interesting, especially the one about the Starved Rock. The ending is sad and it was emotional for me i felt bad that Théo didn't remember Jack, and that Jack gave up on him questioning his search in the first place. Him and La Grande Sauterelle parting was also a surprise i expected them to be together, but they preferred to be alone, even after spending the whole summer together. I give this book a 4/5, it was very well written and has a great story and the characters are clearly defined and special. I would recommend this book to an older reader who likes history, fun little facts and problems. Thank you for the journey old Volks.