Ida does not exist -
François Bourin
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Today, “Ida does not exist” by Adeline Fleury, published on August 20, 2020 by Éditions François Bourin.
Ticaribo, contributor to the
20 Minutes
Books
reading group
and author, recommends
Adeline Fleury's
Ida does not exist
, published on August 20, 2020 by François Bourin editions.
Her favorite quote:
“For years I had cut myself in two. Head away from the body. Away from the body. Sex so far. By stitching me up alive, my old aunts destroyed me in the worst possible way, with my mother's complicity; in Gabon, we do not excise young girls, but in my family we sew them up. "
Why this book?
Because the theme of the book is very disturbing,
and little treated in literature: infanticide seen from the mother's side, and its journey through poorly controlled emotions and suffering as old as it is incurable.
Because the writing is simple and clear,
and the first-person narrative helps us a bit to, if not identify, at least get a bit closer to the complex personality of the mother.
Because the subject of the book is not limited to infanticide,
it has its source in the history of its mother, it unfolds in bulk the prejudices suffered, the pains, the lacks, it speaks of a culture where women are prevented, where their femininity is stifled, to such a point that for some pregnancy and childbirth cut them even more from themselves instead of repairing them.
Because it is also a love story
, although love is ultimately impossible: how to love a little girl who has been made in her own image if you have been denied, erased, crushed?
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
We follow the departure of a mother with her still-baby daughter towards the seaside in November, and the memories she recalls of her past life, a man she no longer loves, an upset childhood, a martyred body .
Characters.
The mother ;
his daughter Ida;
Alfonse the husband;
the Man of Knowledge;
Mami Wata (Queen of the Waters).
Places.
In Paris, in Gabon, then in the North of France.
The time.
Nowadays.
The author.
Adeline Fleury has written several novels and an essay titled
Petit Éloge de la jouissance feminine
.
This book was read with.
a certain feeling of unease but also a fascination for this text which provokes at the same time pity, disgust and a real empathy for this murderous woman who is herself only a ghost.
Buy this book at Fnac
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Infanticide
Books
Africa
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