Class Trip

This novella by Emmanuel Carriere was a bestseller in France. Nicolas is a young boy whose overprotective father drives over five hours to take him to his class skiing trip because he feared Nicolas would be at risk on the school bus. He drops Nicolas at the chalet but neglects to deposit Nicolas' luggage.

Nicolas waits for his father, a surgical instrument salesman, to return with his suitcase and in the meantime has to borrow items from his classmates who have ostracized him. But his father doesn't come back and can't be reached by phone (this novel is 20 years old). Nicolas, a neurotic child, starts fretting about his father's disappearance but enjoys the special attention he receives when he becomes ill. A boy disappears from the village and Nicolas fantasizes about what might have happened to him. It doesn't turn out well. I anticipated the ending but it was disquieting nonetheless.