Some Moments Require A Witness

Monaco Unspoken: A Chauffeur’s Tales-A Novel About the Things We Don’t Say by A. Moreau (2025)

Through a series of hushed, powerful stories, we discover a range of people facing many struggles, large and small. But each is unique, just like the locale. Set in the glittering jewel of the Principality of Monaco, the passengers are only like us in our shared humanity. Each story brings a quiet intensity, bringing into the car with both driver and passenger.

Why I Liked It – The balance of emotional intimacy and carefully maintained silence makes these stories remarkable.

My discovery of the stories of A. Moreau came by accident. He shares stories on the social media platform Threads. Under the nom de fil of “lostinathread”, I stumbled on these intense but quiet stories about people from a world I can barely imagine having profound moments in the back of a hired car. Moreau’s narrator is the driver. He allows the silence to serve as the cushion for his passenger’s moment. When he speaks, it is more often to offer context than advice. The result are stories whose calm, quiet surface bely the intense emotion just below the surface.

The stories snare me for several reasons. Foremost is the quality of the writing itself. Moreau has an eye and ear for storytelling. In his attention to detail, he pulls us into the car. The passengers are specific people, specifically described. He knows nothing about when they step into his car. They will introduce themselves to him and us through a slow unraveling. Each story is one that I savored, like a good wine or a fine meal. It’s never just the main course or primary flavor that makes it special. It’s the undertones, the lingering piquancy on the tongue that makes you want to pause and enjoy.

The other reason is more prosaic. I lived a similar life for five or six years. And I wrote stories inspired by my passengers as well, in my book “You Call, I Drive”. The stories are as different as Richmond is from Monaco, but the core of humanity is the same in both collections.

Moreau is in fact a chauffeur in Monaco, and also shares his stories on Substack. I would recommend exploring his work wherever you can find it.

Any time I find an author whose work I admire, I want to share it. Moreau has that combination of both skilled storytelling along with a facility for a turn of phrase that makes me wish I wrote like that. Seek A. Moreau out wherever he can be found. Buy the book.

Rating – **** Recommended